


Destined to Be

by Abadabadoo22



Series: Destined to Be [1]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:27:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 75,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23780788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abadabadoo22/pseuds/Abadabadoo22
Summary: Chloe and Beca haven’t been close for years. One marriage to a certain army man, a death and two children separated them farther apart than they ever thought possible. The two run into each other again in the most unexpected way. Can they fix what fell apart? Will they re-discover the love that’s always been there?
Relationships: Beca Mitchell & Jesse Swanson, Chloe Beale & Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Chicago Walp
Series: Destined to Be [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796224
Comments: 56
Kudos: 178





	1. Chapter 1

“Christopher Chicago Beale, you walk your butt down these stairs right now. We’re going to be late for your first day!” Chloe bellowed up the stairs.

The stomping of tiny feet soon could be heard going down the hall until Chloe saw a red streak of hair bouncing down the steps. She smiled widely, the anger washing away from her composure. It was Christopher’s first day of kindergarten and she couldn’t be happier, this was a day to remember and not to be angry at her adorable, but sometimes aggravating child. “Mommy I had to say goodbye to Auntie Aubrey and Auntie Stacie but I didn’t find them,” Christopher pouted, his lower lip jutting out dramatically.

“That’s probably because I’m down here bug,” Aubrey waltzed around the corner with a cup of coffee, “and Auntie Stacie is at work already. But I’m here to say goodbye and good luck on you first day of school!”

Aubrey knelt to Christopher’s level and pulled him into a tight hug. Chloe melted at the sight of her best friend and son sharing a moment, she was forever grateful that Aubrey has been there for her. After her husband Chicago’s car crash and subsequent death, Chloe had been a wreck. Aubrey had been there for her every step of the way, even if Chloe tried her best to push her away. Chloe pushed everyone away, especially after she found out she was pregnant. A pregnant widow at the young age of 28, who would have ever thought? But Aubrey was persistent and broke down every one of the walls Chloe had worked so hard to build after Chicago’s death. Aubrey and Stacie had helped Chloe so much in raising Christopher, she doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to repay them for their friendship and kindness.

“Alright we better get going little dude,” Chloe handed Christopher his batman backpack as he pulled away from Aubrey.

“Let’s gooooo!” Christopher squealed excitedly. Making identical grins spread across both Aubrey and Chloe’s faces.

The drive to school was filled with the eager chatter and squeals of the 5-year-old in the backseat. Chloe smiles warmly, knowing that her son is so excited to start school. She has been a little worried about him, considering he’s never really had any contact with kids his age. For all of his life he’s only ever been around Chloe, Aubrey, Stacie, her parents, and some of the other bellas. She does feel guilty that she never properly socialized him up until now, but Chloe is not a playgroup mom. She was never excited about the idea of running to the nearest all natural, organic, no cartoons group of moms down the street. The only other person she knows with a child close to her age is Beca. Chloe feels a pang in her chest thinking of her ex-best friend. She never thought they would drift apart like they had, but after she had married Chicago, Beca basically iced her out. It hurt. So obviously Beca’s child was not an option.

“MOMMY!” her child’s voice breaks her out of her reverie.

“What Christopher?” she looks at him through the rearview mirror, he’s flapping his arms wildly.

“Look, it’s school!” the excited 5-year old points out the window at the building they just pulled up to.

Chloe laughs, “Yes bug it’s school. You ready?”

He nods animatedly, his red hair that Chloe had combed to perfection this morning, already a disaster from his excitement. Chloe parks the car and let’s Christopher out of his car seat. The moment his feet hit the pavement he takes off running.

“CHRISTOPHER BEALE, SLOW DOWN,” she calls after him.

Chloe quickly grabs his backpack and jogs to catch up to where he’s sprinted. She finally catches up to him and grabs him by the shoulders, stopping him dead in his tracks.

She drops to his level and looks into his eyes, “You don’t go running off without mommy like that, especially in a parking lot.”

“Ok mommy,” he nods, she can tell he’s sorry by his long face.

“Ok well don’t be sad now, let’s go find your classroom!” Chloe stands up and grabs Christopher’s tiny hand in hers.

They find their way to the kindergarten classroom pretty easily. Christopher’s excitement seems to bubble over again and he’s jumping up and down next to her. He’s about to run off into the classroom but Chloe yanks him back by his hand. She drops to his level again, but this time pulls him into her arms tightly. She can feel his little hands wrap around her neck and grasp at her hair as he hugs her back just as tightly. Chloe is filled with such warmth from the hug her son gives her, she doesn’t think she could ever love anyone more than she loves him.

“You didn’t think you’d be able to get out of giving your mom a goodbye hug, did you?” she pulls away looking into his bright blue eyes, which are completely identical to her own.

He shakes his head no, “I love you mommy.”

“I love you so much bug, be a good boy at school today,” she says standing up and letting go of her wild little 5-year old, but not before handing him his backpack.

He looks back at her one more time before dashing into the classroom. Chloe can’t help the small tear that escapes and trails down her face. She can’t believe he’s in kindergarten already.

She notices Christopher’s teacher standing by the doorway, greeting every child that walks in. She better go introduce herself.

“Hi, I’m Chloe Beale, Christopher’s mom,” she extends her hand to the short, chipper looking blonde.

“Very nice to meet you Chloe! I’m Autumn Brown,” she smiles back, shaking her hand, “I’m sure he’ll be a delight to have in class.”

“I know he’s going to do well, he’s been so excited for weeks,” Chloe explains, watching Christopher out of the corner of her eye through the classroom door.

“That’s so good he’s been excited, some kids are so nervous to start school,” Autumn replies kindly.

“Yea not Christopher,” Chloe giggles thinking about she hasn’t been able to get him to shut up about school for the last month.

“Well it was nice to meet you,” Autumn smiles, ending the conversation so she can greet the other parents filling the hallway.

“You too,” Chloe chirps before sliding over, but still enough to see into the classroom.

She stands still watching her son make his way through the classroom, greeting every kid he sees excitedly. She looks down at her watch and realizes it’s getting late; she has to get going or she’s going to be late for work. Just as she’s about to turn around to leave she hears her name called by an all too familiar voice.

“Chloe?”

It can’t be. She feels her stomach drop to her feet as she turns around to confirm her suspicions. Before her, in all her glory, is Beca Mitchell. Standing next to her, there is what appears to be a miniature Beca. Chloe looks her up and down in shock, like she isn’t even real.

“Beca…wow,” she stutters, “it’s good to see you.”

“Yea you too Chloe,” Beca looks just as bewildered.

The two stare at each other for a moment before Chloe remembers the little girl still standing next to Beca, “And who is this you have with you? I don’t think we’ve ever properly met.”

“Oh yea,” Beca says before looking down at her daughter, “this is Amelia.”

“Hi Amelia,” Chloe waves down at the tiny brunette, “I’m Chloe.”

Chloe nudges her daughter, “Say hi to Chloe.”

The little girl looks up nervously at her, “Hi Chloe.”

She’s so adorable and apparently shy. Chloe melts at the interaction.

“So…what are you doing here?” Beca asks curiously.

“Oh, I just dropped my son Christopher off,” she motions toward to door to the classroom, “Looks like Christopher and Amelia are going to be classmates.”

“I had no idea he was that old already Chlo,” Beca slips, using her old nickname for the redhead, “I had no idea we were even in the same school district.”

Chloe shrugs, “Yea…I um didn’t realize your daughter was the same age as Christopher.”

“Looks like we’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Beca replies sheepishly.

Chloe nods, her heart soaring at the prospect of talking to Beca again. She had no idea the younger woman had any interest in her life at all.

“Well I’m going to walk Amelia into the classroom,” she motions down toward her daughter, “she’s kind of nervous. Would you maybe want to grab a coffee afterward though?”

Chloe wants to say yes more than anything, but she has to get to work, “I really have to get going actually. I have work in a half an hour.”

“Oh ok,” Beca looks disappointed, “we should get together sometime when you’re free.”

Chloe nods excitedly, “I would really like that Beca.”

“You probably don’t have the right phone number for me anymore,” Beca whips a pen and notebook out of her bag. She rips out a piece of a page, scrawling her phone number onto it, “I had to switch phone numbers after a crazy fan got a hold of my old one.”

It dawns on Chloe that Beca is famous. Beca had rose to fame quickly after being discovered by DJ Khaled. Something Chloe seemingly forgot, even though it’s hard to not hear a Beca Mitchell song whenever you turn on the radio.

Chloe takes the scrap of paper from Beca, another question forming, “How did you manage to drop your daughter off without being bombarded by paparazzi or fans?”

“I would be surprised if there weren’t a few outside right now,” Beca laughs, “I got lucky this morning though, but that’s also why I bring him along.”

Beca points at the burly looking man down the hall, aviator shades still on his face even though they’re inside. What a crazy life Beca must have, needing a bodyguard for something as simple as taking her daughter to school on her first day.

“Wow,” Chloe replies simply, still kind of shocked.

Beca rolls her eyes, “Yea fame has its perks, but it has a lot of downfalls.”

Chloe just nods, suddenly feeling very bad for the petite brunette she used to call her best friend.

“Ok well I better get going, I hope that we can get together soon,” Chloe smiles warmly at the mother and daughter.

Beca smiles back just as brightly, “Definitely. It was great to see you Chloe.”

Chloe spins on her heels and walks back out towards her car. Her head and heart are swirling at the prospect of getting to “know” Beca again. Who would have thought she’d run into her here? She knows she has to be careful though, Beca had hurt Chloe badly all those years ago when she refused to be a part of her wedding. And then if that wasn’t enough, she stopped talking to her. It took a long time for her heart to heal after losing her best friend. She also knew deep down inside though that the distance and space helped. Chloe had still been in love with Beca. Beca never made it clear that she felt similarly, so Chloe did what she had to. She found someone else. She knew it was wrong to agree to marrying Chicago when she was still in love with Beca but she knew it was the only way to move on. It’s not like she didn’t love Chicago though. She did, with all her heart, but it was never the same way she loved Beca. The thought of her deceased husband still makes her heart split in two. She won’t ever truly recover from losing him in the way that she did. She does know though that she is ready to have Beca back in her life, if that’s what she would like.

She didn’t realize how lost in her thoughts she was until she pulled up to the vet clinic. Working will help clear her head. Working always helps center her. She gets out of the car and walks into the clinic, the secretary smiles up at her, “Morning Dr. Beale.”

“Good morning Annie,” Chloe chirps.

The young secretary holds up a yellow file folder for her to grab, “You’ve got a dog with joint problems at 10, they got scheduled last minute. I saw you didn’t have anything, hope that’s ok?”

Normally Chloe would grumble at last minute add-ons but today she is grateful for all the distractions so she doesn’t sit and think about everything that could go wrong with Christopher at school…or Beca, “That’s perfect actually, thanks!”

Chloe walks to her office and sits down heavily in the chair behind her desk. She’s still trying to process everything that happened this morning. It’s like something out of a dream, seeing Beca at the school and Beca asking to meet up. She wasn’t sure if Beca even cared for her anymore. Chloe can’t help but pull out her phone and send a quick text to Aubrey.

_C: guess who I ran into today???_

Chloe barely sets her phone down before Aubrey responds, she forgot she had the day off.

_A: Who?!?_

_C: Beca._

_A: What?_

_C: Yea Beca. Apparently our kids are going to be in the same class_

_A: CALL ME ASAP_

_C: can’t. I’ve got a patient in 10 minutes_

_A: CHLOE MARIE BEALE YOU PICK UP THAT PHONE AND CALL ME NOW_

_C: I will when I’m done. Keep your pants on_

_A: CHLOE_

Chloe can’t tell if Aubrey’s responses were angry or surprised, but she has a feeling it’s the first one. She sighs, Aubrey has been very protective of her ever since Chicago died. And she’s grateful, she is. She knows it’s just Aubrey showing her she cares. Sometimes she can be a little overbearing though. Chloe’s not the same fragile person she was 5 years ago. She can hold her own now, unlike when all it took was someone to breath and she was broken all over again. As if Aubrey is a mind reader, Chloe gets another text.

_A: You know I’m just worried. I don’t want to see you hurt again._

_C: I know._

Chloe shakes her head knowingly and stands up to leave for her first patient. Maybe she should be more worried about letting Beca back in, maybe Aubrey is right.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're taking a trip back in time in this chapter, to see the mess that got Beca and Chloe where they are today...we're starting to get angsty in this one, so buckle up!

* _7 years ago*_

Beca’s hand shakes as she grabs the glass of water off the table. Her nerves are clearly getting the better of her already. She knows that Chloe has something big to say to her, she can see it in the red head’s eyes. Especially because Chloe made the trip all the way out from New York to LA to tell her. If it’s something she couldn’t say on the phone, it must be important. Of course, Beca selfishly hopes she’s here to tell her that she ended things with Chicago and is going to profess her undying love to her. Beca isn’t stupid though. She shakes her head as she shoves the fantasy down into the back of her brain. Now here they sit in a restaurant, Beca ready to accept the fact that Chloe is going to tell her anything but that.

“So Beca, I guess there’s no better time than now to tell you the news,” Chloe starts slowly.

Beca feels her grip tighten on her glass she had been drinking from. A sense of unease coursing through her system.

A smile breaks out across her best friend’s face, “Chicago and I are getting married!”

Beca feels like she could cry. Her face feels hot and her head spins. This can’t be, she didn’t even think they were that serious. She focuses on breathing in and out deeply before responding. Chloe’s eyes are glued to her, looking at her expectantly.

“Wow Chloe!” she finally blurts out, “….that’s great.”

Chloe looks pleased with her forced answer, “Isn’t it?” she moves her hand from under the table, to shove the sparkling, ring on her fourth finger into Beca’s face.

“When?” Beca barely manages to get the one word question out as she gawks at the expensive ring on Chloe’s finger.

“He proposed last weekend,” she smiles dreamily, “I wanted to call you right away and tell you, but I thought it might be more exciting in person.”

Beca nods, “When’s the wedding?”

“I know it’s quick…but 2 months from now,” she replies, a tinge of red appearing on her cheeks.

Beca feels like all the air has been sucked from her lungs. She can’t be here anymore; she’s got to escape. She reaches quickly for the water glass again and chugs half the glass.

“It’s really really soon, but there’s a good chance Chicago is going to get deployed again. I want to marry him before that happens,” Chloe explains thoughtfully when she realizes Beca isn’t going to say anything.

Beca is silent for pretty much the rest of lunch. She’s sure that Chloe can tell there’s something wrong, but that doesn’t stop the bubbly red head from filling the empty air with ideas for the wedding and stories from New York the last few months. Beca nods in feigned interest. She follows most of what her best friend is saying but she can’t stop the non-stop loop in her head of Chloe telling her she’s getting married. It plays over and over like some shitty infomercial. Beca knows she should have told Chloe sooner about how she feels about her. Now it’s too late. It would be completely unfair to Chloe to tell her something like that.

“Beca, did you hear me?” Chloe sounds concerned.

Beca snaps back into reality, she wonders how long Chloe has been trying to get her attention, “Oh sorry Chlo, what did you say?”

“I asked if you would be my maid of honor?” Chloe’s bright baby blues bore into Beca.

As if it couldn’t get any worse…Beca doesn’t know what to say. She’s pretty sure she can’t say no but she’s also pretty sure it would break her if she said yes, “Uh yea sure Chloe.”

Beca fake smiles back at her weakly, in reality trying to force any tears from forming in her eyes or any bile from crawling up her throat.

******************************************************************************

It’s been a week since Chloe has heard from Beca. Coincidentally, it’s been a week since Chloe flew to LA to tell her best friend about her engagement. It’s been a week since she asked her to be her maid of honor, to stand by her on one of the most important days of her life. Chloe could tell that the news had shocked her, but she didn’t think it upset her. Maybe she was wrong? Chloe just wishes that Beca could be happy for her. It took a long time for Chloe to be ready to even consider dating anyone. She had spent YEARS pining over Beca, to only be shot down anytime she tried to be anything more with her. Now she is there. She is ready to love someone else.

Chloe stares up at the ceiling and sighs deeply. She’s been lying in bed since she woke up, trying to muster the motivation to leave and start the day. She doesn’t have anything to do today. The sun is shining bright through the thin curtains of her apartment window. It looks like a beautiful day in NYC but Chloe doesn’t want to do anything but hide away under the covers. She’s just about to roll over and leave her warm, safe nest of blankets when her phone goes off. She picks it up off the nightstand, it’s a text from Beca.

_B: I’m so sorry Chloe but I can’t be your maid of honor. I don’t think I will be at the wedding either. And I’m sorry I can’t give you a better explanation, but I just can’t_

The message is like a slap across the face. Chloe can’t decide if she wants to throw her phone out the window in anger or if she wants to cry for hours. The rush of emotions that overcomes her is unsettling. What could be so damn important that Beca can’t be a part of her wedding or even attend her wedding for that matter? Hot angry tears are already rolling rapidly down her face. She picks up her phone with a shaky hand in attempt to text Beca back.

_C: Is it because of work?_

She knows that’s a hopeful thought. Beca not wanting any part of this has to be bigger than a work excuse, but she has to check.

_B: No_

_C: Then what is it Beca. You can’t leave me hanging like this, you now how important this is to me. Why can’t you support me in this?_

It’s about 5 minutes before she finally gets a response from Beca.

_B: He’s not right for you Chlo. You’ve known him for like two seconds, how can you just jump in like that?_

Chloe is positively shaking with anger now; she’s not even trying to stop the waterfall of tears.

_C: HOW DO YOU KNOW WHATS RIGHT FOR ME? I love him Beca. That’s how I fucking know it’s right. Sorry for being happy for once._

_B: I’m glad you’re happy, I’m just worried you’re making the wrong decision._

_C: I can’t with you right now…I need to stop talking before I say something really stupid_

Chloe shuts her phone off, so she doesn’t have to see the onslaught of messages that are surely going to come from Beca. She pulls the covers over her head and lets herself cry. Chloe hasn’t cried this hard in years but every time she does it always seems to be about a certain short brunette. She can’t help the loud sobs escaping her. All Chloe wanted was one of the people she loves most to be with her on her wedding day. More importantly, she just wanted Beca to be happy for her. The more Chloe cries, the more she wonders if these emotions are really for a different reason. Deep down Chloe knows that she is still in love with Beca. And maybe Beca is right, maybe this is a mistake. She can’t have who she really wants though. Maybe it was a foolish, selfish thing to want Beca at her wedding just because she is in love with her. That if Beca was standing up at the alter with her, even though she’d be marrying Chicago, that it would mean something. Maybe this is all for the better. She can move forward loving Chicago without the messiness of Beca getting in the way.

******************************************************************************

It’s been months since Beca and Chloe’s blow out. Chloe is now happily married to Chicago. It was a beautiful wedding with all her family and friends surrounding her, well except the person she had wanted there the most. Chloe wishes she could just have Beca back in her life, but she hasn’t heard from her since that fateful day. She’s tried reaching out to her but she never answers, never responds. So Chloe did what she had to and she moved on. No one ever tells you how hard it is to lose a best friend. She’s starting to think it’s just as hard, maybe even harder than losing a boyfriend or girlfriend. Chicago has been so good to her as she mourns the loss of her best friend, but she can tell his patience is wearing thin.

“Come on Chloe,” Chicago holds out his hand, “just come outside with me. The fresh air and sunshine would be good for you.”

Chloe reluctantly grabs his hand, letting him lift her from her spot on the sofa, “I’m sorry.”

Chicago runs a reassuring hand up and down her back, placing a kiss on her forehead, “I know. I know it’s been hard, but at some point, you’ve gotta move on Chlo. I know she was important to you, but friends drift apart sometimes.”

Chloe just nods in response and the two head out the front door into the sunny California weather. After the wedding the two relocated to California so Chloe could finally start vet school at UC Davis. They got a modest little house not far from campus so it would be easy for her to commute in. She started a week ago and loves it so far. Chloe can tell it’s going to be hard and stressful, but it’s a really good distraction from the whole Beca thing.

****************************************************************************

It only made sense for Beca to try and move on after Chloe got married. Consequently, it didn’t take long for Beca to fall back into the arms of her old boyfriend, Jesse. It had started out casual. Beca just wanting a little fling, something to take the pain away. Surely and slowly, they just became as close as they were before, if not closer. Since Beca stopped talking to Chloe she really didn’t have a go to person anymore. Jesse became that person for her. He quickly and happily stepped into the role of Beca’s boyfriend and best friend again. She hadn’t imagined it turning as serious as has gotten though. Which is why she’s completely shell shocked at the scene in front of her….

“Beca Mitchell, you make me the happiest man on this planet,” he gets down on one knee in front her, pulling a ring box from his pocket, “I don’t want to do life with anyone but you. Marry me?”

Beca feels like the world around her has completely frozen. Her feet feel like they are stuck to the ground, her eyes glued to the shining ring in the box in Jesse’s hands. She knows she has to answer sooner or later but her mouth has gone completely dry. She knows she loves Jesse so the answer should be easy, but does she love Jesse enough to say yes to this? Deep down, Beca knows she still loves Chloe. If the red head were to burst into this room and ask her to run away with her, she wouldn’t even have to think twice. And here she is second guessing a marriage proposal from the man she loves. Chloe isn’t here though. Chloe doesn’t love her. Chloe is married to Chicago. So what does Beca have to lose by saying yes?

She nods her head finally, “Yes Jesse, I’ll marry you.”

She sees him breath a deep sigh of relief as he takes the ring from the box and slides it onto her finger with a shaky hand. He looks into her eyes and they are so full of love. He looks happy…and relieved. Beca is happy but do her eyes look like that? She doesn’t have any more time to think about her answer before Jesse is scooping her up into his arms. Beca gladly hugs him back, her lips quickly find his. She tries to convey to him how much she really does love him as they kiss. They pull away as both of them run out of breath.

Jesse rests his forehead against hers and they catch their breath, “You’ve made me so unbelievably happy Beca. I love you.”

Beca smiles, leaving a little too much air between them before responding, “I love you too Jes.”

Beca knows she’ll be happy with Jesse. She should just count her blessings; she’s got someone to spend her life with. Jesse is a good friend. He gets her, he lets her be herself. He’s a good boyfriend too. Jesse worships the ground Beca walks on and she knows he would never treat her poorly. Beca should definitely be happy and content with this new development in their relationship. But why isn’t she elated like Jesse is?


	3. Chapter 3

Against Aubrey’s stern warning and Chloe’s better judgement, she did end up calling Beca. She couldn’t just leave it and wonder what would have happened if she didn’t. Yea, she’s putting her heart out on the line, but she’s felt so numb for so long she almost doesn’t care.

Chloe pulls up to the small café that Beca had suggested. It looks quaint for LA. It’s hidden away enough that most paparazzi won’t find Beca here, so Chloe can understand why she picked it. She heads inside and picks a secluded table near the back to wait for her. Chloe fiddles anxiously with the ring around her finger. She checks the time on her phone at least 5 times in the span of a minute. She’s nervous about seeing Beca again, she’s been nervous all week after agreeing to getting lunch. She just doesn’t know what to expect. It’s been 7 years since she last spoke to Beca. Everything she’s heard about her since then has been from the other bellas. Beca could be an entirely different person for all she knows. It’s like meeting all over again. I guess Chloe is a completely different person too, for very different reasons. So it’s not like this is going to be a one sided issue.

Chloe’s been waiting for about 10 minutes now, and just when she decides to text Beca and ask where she is, she hears the bell on the top of the door chime. Her head snaps up from her phone to see Beca walk through the front door of the café. She’s wearing a very Beca outfit, black jeans with some rips near the knee and mid-thigh and a simple gray t-shirt covered up by a sharp looking black leather jacket. Some things never change, and Beca’s style is one of them. Her sunglasses she was wearing are now sitting on top of her head. She looks effortlessly beautiful Chloe thinks. Beca strides through the café, all the way to the table Chloe is sitting at, having spotted the red head the moment she walked in.

“Hi Beca,” Chloe greets her with a warm smile.

Beca beams back at her, as she takes a seat across from her, “Hey Chloe.”

The two sit in awkward silence for a moment. Beca looks just as nervous as Chloe feels. She can tell that Beca is bouncing her leg under the table. Chloe knows that is one of the biggest tip offs when the younger woman is feeling stressed or anxious. Thankfully a waitress walks up to their table and breaks the tension. They both place their orders rather quickly, and then their buffer is gone.

Beca is the first to say something, “God Chloe I don’t even know where to start…”

“Me either,” Chloe readily agrees, not meeting the brunettes gaze.

“So you followed your dreams,” Beca smiles, like she’s actually happy that Chloe has achieved what she wanted to, “you’re a vet.”

“Yea, it was a real uphill battle, but I got there eventually. It was worth it though,” Chloe replies, it’s always easy for her to talk about her work.

“That’s good, I’m glad that it was everything you hoped it to be.”

“So you really went places too, miss pop music sensation,” Chloe says with a smirk, “I love your music. I always knew you would be where you are today, you’ve always oozed talent.”

Chloe can see a hint of a blush creep onto Beca’s cheeks. She finds it crazy the girl still doesn’t know how to take a compliment after being in the spotlight for so long, “Thanks Chlo, that means a lot.”

There’s a slightly less awkward pause in conversation as the waitress brings them both their food. They start to eat, the air around them still silent and sticky with awkward tension. Chloe wonders how they ever got to this point. There was a time in her life where she told Beca everything. She would have never pictured her life without her best friend. Now here they are awkwardly picking at salads, sneaking a glance at each other between bites. Chloe’s never had a problem keeping a conversation going. So why should this be any different?

Chloe clears her throat and attempts to start a conversation, “So tell me about Amelia, Christopher seems to really like her. From what he tells me, she seems like a sweetheart.”

Beca’s eyes light up as Chloe mentions her daughter’s name, “She is my everything. She has the biggest heart and when she gets comfortable, she definitely has my attitude. She’s super smart too, so curious about the world around her. And well I know you noticed, but she looks so much like me, you’d never be able to tell she is Jesse’s as well.”

The last bit of information stuns Chloe to silence for a moment. How had she not known that Jesse was the father? She’s sure one of the bellas would have mentioned that to her. Her mind starts racing, is she still with him? When had they even gotten together? Well I guess the last one is a stupid question, obviously around 5 years ago, there’s a child to prove that.

“Amelia sounds wonderful. So, Jesse huh?” Chloe prods, hoping just asking about him will reveal some more information. 

“Um yea. We were actually married for about 2 years,” Beca looks almost embarrassed admitting it, “we got divorced shortly after Amelia’s first birthday. It was nothing horrible, I just realized I wasn’t happy. I’m not sure I ever really loved him like he loved me, ya know?”

“Yea I completely understand,” Chloe suddenly feels braver to share after Beca’s complete honesty, “I was starting to feel that way in my marriage, towards the end. I don’t think I just felt as deeply as he did. And it feels awful to say it, especially with what happened. It feels wrong to admit something like that when he died loving me so much.”

Chloe takes a pause trying to formulate her words, talking about this has always been so hard. But she feels at ease with Beca, “I was crushed when he died, I’m not saying that that was easy just because the spark was gone. It was a dark time. I feel bad that Christopher was born into such a bleak time in my life.”

Beca’s hand snakes across the table to rest on top of Chloe’s, her face full of sympathy, “I am so sorry that had to happen to you Chloe. It’s unfair. I know he was important to you.”

Chloe wipes away a tear she hadn’t even realized had escaped, “At least I have Christopher though, he reminds me of him. It’s like I got to keep a little piece of him around even though he’s not with me anymore.”

Beca moves her hand to fully grab onto Chloe’s now, her thumb rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand, “God how did our lives get so messed up?”

Chloe smiles at the contact with Beca on the tabletop, “I don’t know Becs…I just have to let you know though, I wish things would have been different for us. I wish we weren’t here now, sitting across from each other like we’re strangers.”

Chloe can tell Beca is processing her words, the wheels in her head turning. She knows that this conversation went from 0-100 pretty quickly. One minute they are talking about jobs and kids, the next the major tragedies and struggles of the last 5 years. But they’ve never done things small. Ever since they’ve known each other, they’ve jumped in with both feet first. Chloe busted into Beca’s shower naked when they barely knew each other for fucks sake, which seems like an entire lifetime ago.

“I feel the same way,” Beca finally responds choosing her words carefully, “but I also feel that this is my fault. I ignored you. I shut you out. I ended this. I put us here in this situation.”

“I could have tried harder Beca…” Chloe starts to say before she is cut off.

“No this is my fault,” she shakes her head, “Chlo, you sent me 100 text messages in one week. I had 50 missed calls by the end of that first month. You couldn’t have tried much harder than you did.”

Chloe accepts Beca’s words, even though she still feels responsible, there are two sides to every story. She wonders how things could have gone if Beca had been around, if Beca had still been in her life when she was struggling. Aubrey was there for her more than any friend ever was after Chicago’s death, but Beca always had a way of calming Chloe unlike anyone else. Would it have been easier with her there?

“I really needed you Beca,” Chloe can barely stop the words before they are out of her mouth.

Chloe can’t help the tears that form in her eyes watching the brunette, “Chloe I wanted to be there for you so bad when Chicago died. More than anything. But I didn’t know if you wanted me there after everything. I didn’t think it was fair for me to insert myself back into your life after I left it so abruptly. But I knew how bad you had to be hurting and I wanted to be there for you.”

Chloe grabs Beca’s other hand from across the table, “It’s ok Beca. Having you there for me would have been wonderful...but I understand, I also think it would have been confusing for me to have you there.”

Beca nods, her eyes now filled with unshed tears as well, “I was an idiot.”

The two stare at each other, eyes both filled with unshed tears of regret. Regret for not reaching out to each other sooner, for not being there for each other through the hard times, and for not being a part of each other’s lives for so long.

“I know this is kind of fast, but I want to be a part of your life again Chlo, I could be there for you now?” Beca asks, her voice shaky.

Chloe nods, the tears now streaming down her face freely, “I would love that Becs.”

Chloe feels like she could fly. It’s like a part of her has come home. She feels complete again, knowing that Beca is going to be in her life again, in at least some way. She knows there’s still a lot they have to work out, a lot of things that still need discussing. But this means that they’ll have that chance. She knows this is still risky territory though, not because Beca is some monster that’s going to hurt her all over again. She can see that hurting her was never Beca’s intent. Chloe is more concerned about the feelings that had lied dormant in her for so long, now creeping back to the surface. She can already feel the deep, unrequited love bubbling to the surface again, after just one lunch with Beca. It scares her that it can return to her so quickly after everything that has happened between them.

A loud ringing snaps both girls out of their thoughts. Beca moves her hand from Chloe’s and wipes away a rogue tear of her own before grabbing her phone from her bag.

“Yea what’s up?” Beca snaps into her phone, “Oh shit. Ok I’ll get going.”

“What is it?” Chloe asks confused.

Beca hangs up the phone, anger written all over her face, “Some ass must have seen me here or coming here and tipped the paparazzi off to my location. I’ve got to go.”

Chloe nods knowingly, “Call me when you can?”

“Of course,” Beca smiles, standing up from the table, “we need to spend more time together, maybe you can come over sometime soon. Bring Christopher, him and Amelia can play together.”

“I would like that a lot,” Chloe stands up to leave as well.

Beca looks at her weirdly for a moment, “I would sit here for a few minutes until I’m gone. Some of those snakes are probably already out there. I don’t want them seeing you.”

“Oh,” Chloe replies, the hurt evident in her voice.

Beca’s eyes widen as she realizes how that must have sounded, “But not because I’m ashamed of spending time with you or anything. If they see you with me, you’re going to be dragged into this. I don’t want to subject you to this if I don’t have to.”

Chloe is relieved at her words and how much the other girl cares for her still, “Oh I didn’t think of that. Thank you Beca.”

“No problem Chloe,” Beca turns to leave and waves at Chloe, “I’ll call you and hopefully see you, soon!”

“Yea definitely!” Chloe waves back as she watches Beca walk to the front of the café.

She moves her dark sunglasses back down over her eyes and takes a deep breath before pushing the door open and leaving. Chloe is still shocked at the turn of events this lunch has taken. She never thought going in that her and Beca would have mostly reconciled, agreeing to be something to each other again. Whether that’s friends or something else, Chloe still isn’t sure. She is sure that she wants to see this through. If there is even the slightest chance to have her best friend back, she’s ready. Though Chloe can’t help having the small sliver of hope that maybe her and Beca still have the chance to be even more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for another flashback, this time about 6 years into the past...both Beca and Chloe find out something very important.

_*6 years ago*_

Beca’s hands tremble as she takes the home pregnancy test out of its packaging. Jesse is gone at work for another hour, she has to get this done before he gets home. He has no clue she’s doing this. He doesn’t even know she suspects anything. The two hadn’t been trying for a baby, but of course Beca won’t be upset if she is pregnant. She was never opposed to the idea of children. She knows if she is though, that Jesse will be absolutely over the moon. He’s talked to her on more than one occasion about all the kids he wants someday. Beca had always rolled her eyes and moved on. Now here she is, getting ready to pee on a stick that will tell her if she has actual human life growing inside of her. The idea of it kind of creeps her out still, but if there is something in there, she’ll love the little life sucking alien.

Beca gets the test out and does the deed. Now to set a timer and wait. It seems like the longest five minutes she’s ever spent on this earth. She paces back and forth through the small bathroom, trying not to look at the test sitting right on the counter. After three whole lifetimes, her alarm finally goes off. Beca grabs the test off the counter, she wishes she had someone to read it for her. All that time waiting and now she can’t even get herself to look at the damn results. She takes a deep breath and counts to three before finally looking down at the test. PREGNANT. There it is, clear as day in the tiny results window. The words pregnant, clearly printed out right before her eyes. Beca sucks in a deep breath, she drops the test back onto the counter and her hands fly to her still flat stomach. She rubs knowingly over it, there is something in there. Beca can feel tears rolling down her cheeks, god she didn’t think she would be that mom. The one that starts bawling on the spot when she finds out. Mom…she didn’t even realize she called herself mom. She decides she likes the sound of it.

Beca drops her hands from her stomach and grabs the test from the counter, shoving it into the pocket of her jeans. Now she just has to decide when and how to tell Jesse.

When Jesse finally gets home that night, he’s cranky. Something about his boss wanting him to re-do something he already did like three times. Beca listens halfheartedly, not able to keep her mind off the information she found out this afternoon. She figures she better wait until he’s in a better mood to tell him though. She doesn’t want him to find out like this. So she keeps the secret, that keeps threatening to bubble up, pushed down. Beca wishes she could tell someone, but she wants Jesse to know first. She almost called Amy this afternoon, unable to hold the secret in. She stopped herself though, thank god, the whole state of California, including Jesse, would have known in two hours.

“You busy tomorrow night Jes?” Beca asks while the two eat dinner that night.

He shakes his head, “No, why?”

Beca smiles shyly as she thinks of her quickly formulated plan to tell him, “I was hoping we could have a movie night?”

“A movie night?” he looks surprised since Beca never suggests them, “Yea that would be great!”

“Cool,” Beca replies simply, not wanting to sound too excited. That might give her away.

The next night, Beca makes sure the living room is all set up before Jesse gets home. Beca is always done at the studio way before Jesse is done, so she has plenty of time to get ready. She spent a lot of time figuring out how to tell him, most ideas seeming way too cheesy and cliché. Doing grand gestures like these aren’t very Beca, but she knows Jesse will appreciate it. She got better at doing things like this from being around Chloe for so long. Her heart hurts at the thought of her ex-best friend, the girl she loved. She wishes she could tell Chloe about being pregnant. Of course, she would be way too excited. And she definitely would have an idea for how Beca should tell Jesse. Beca smiles at all the crazy ideas the red head would have cooked up for her. Beca’s idea isn’t that great, but she thinks it’s sweet and…different.

After dinner that night, Beca leads Jesse into the living room. They popped a giant bowl of popcorn. Beca turns the lights off and grabs a large blanket before the two settle down onto the sofa together.

“So, what are we watching?” Jesse asks curiously.

“One of our favorites…” Beca smiles slyly, and hits play on the remote.

The opening scene of The Breakfast Club starts playing and Jesse looks at her surprised, “Not that I’m complaining, but any reason you picked one of my all-time favorites?”

“Stop asking questions you weirdo,” Beca shoves him, “can’t I just want to watch this movie?”

“I suppose you can,” he grins, giving Beca a light shove back.

An hour and a half later, the credits start rolling. Beca is lying with her head in Jesse’s lap, the blanket somewhat still covering them both. The popcorn, completely gone.

“Can you go take the DVD out babe?” Beca looks up at him.

“But I’m comfy….” He whines, “can’t we just leave it in for a while.”

Beca sits up and looks at him, realizing her plan might be harder than she thought, “But I want you to go put it away.”

“Beccaaaa…” he whines playfully.

Beca smirks, “Jesssseee…don’t be a turd.”

He laughs and the comment but finally stands up, “Anything for my wifey.”

Beca feels nerves run through her system as Jesse gets closer to the DVD case sitting next to the TV. He picks it up unsuspectingly and opens it. She can see his body tense as he picks the pregnancy test up out of the case, which drops to the floor. He spins around, tears brimming his eyes.

He walks over to Beca shakily, his voice full of disbelief, “You’re pregnant?”

Beca nods, unable to stop her own tears from forming as she watches how elated her husband seems, “I found out yesterday.”

Jesse walks over to her and lifts her up off the sofa, like she weighs nothing. Beca wraps her arms around his neck as he hugs her tightly. The two stand like that for ages, Beca can feel Jesse’s tears dripping down onto her back. He is even happier about this than she had thought he would be.

“I knew you wouldn’t have us watch the Breakfast Club for any old reason,” he laughs, finally pulling away from the embrace.

“You excited to be a dad, nerd?” Beca asks.

Jesse’s eyes light up, “Duh!! I can hardly wait! I’ve got to start practicing my dad jokes!”

**************************************************************************

It takes Chloe a while to finally put the pieces together. She’s grieving, she’s stressed, she hasn’t been eating right. The body can respond to all of that by skipping a period or your stomach feeling off. Chloe had just assumed it was all just an extreme stress reaction to recently losing her husband. She feels sick all over again, picturing him cold and lifeless in the hospital bed in front of her. Scratches, scrapes and bruises cover his face, a blanket covering most of his body, hiding the real damage he suffered. She dashes up off her bed and runs into the bathroom, barely making it before she’s forcefully vomiting into the toilet bowl. After expelling what feels like everything she’s eaten all week, she leans back sitting on her legs. Chloe’s mind races, this has to be more than stress. She’s coming up on two weeks of feeling this way. She doesn’t want to admit to herself what she thinks it might be, but in the back of her mind she thinks back to the last time she and Chicago had had sex, counting on her fingers.

“Ughhhhhh,” she groans loudly, the math working out perfectly.

“Honey?” she hears her mother’s concerned voice outside of the bathroom door.

“Yea mom?” her voice shaky as she answers.

“Are you ok?” she sounds really worried, “I heard you run in here, it didn’t sound good.”

Chloe stands up and walks over to the door, letting her mom walk into the small space. Her mom doesn’t say anything, just pulls her eldest child into her arms. It’s these moments that Chloe doesn’t regret coming to stay with her parents for a moment. There’s just something about the love of her family and parents that has made grieving and healing so much easier. She just lets herself cry in her mother’s arms. Her mom rubs comforting circles on her back, whispering words of encouragement to her.

Finally, Chloe pulls away with watery eyes still, “I think I’m pregnant.”

“Oh Chloe,” her mom pulls her into her arms again, as she cries harder this time.

They send Chloe’s father to the drug store for a few pregnancy tests. He hadn’t even batted an eye at doing it for his clearly distraught daughter, under normal circumstances it would have taken a bit more convincing. He returns quickly since the store was just down the street. Before Chloe knows it, she’s staring at a row of pregnancy tests. Every single one she took had been positive. She knows taking the fourth and final test wasn’t even necessary, but she has to see it. She needs 100% proof that she is in fact carrying her dead husband’s baby. She hadn’t let her mother or Aubrey, who had been staying at the Beale residence for the past few weeks, into the bathroom with her. Chloe needs to do this alone. She needs the time to process it alone, without the sympathetic “oh poor widow Chloe” faces of her mother or best friend. The timer on her phone goes off and she looks down at the final test, two lines glare back up at her. She isn’t quite prepared for the wave of emotions that rock her body. A loud, choked sob escapes her and her hands drop to her stomach, where she knows a life is growing. It’s unfair, why does she have to do this alone? This baby is never going to meet its father, it will never have two parents. Her sobs only get louder as the sadness and unfairness of the situation overwhelm her. She doesn’t even realize her mother’s arms are once again wrapped tightly around her before they are sitting on the cold tile of the floor. When she finally calms down her mother pulls away to looks into her swimming blue eyes.

“Chloe,” her mom’s hands cradle her face, her thumbs wiping some of the wetness away, “we will be here for you, no matter what happens, or what you choose do.”

“I know,” Chloe sniffles, “it’s just so unfair, this baby will never know their dad.”

“No, they might never be able to meet him in person, but I know you won’t ever let them forget who he is,” her mother says reassuringly, “that baby is going to be so loved Chloe. By so many people. And I know you will make sure that they know that they have a father who loves them with all his heart.”

A new wave of emotion washes over Chloe at her mother’s words, but this time overwhelming love for the tiny life inside of her. She didn’t know such love was possible for something she can’t even see or feel. New tears roll down her face and her hands drop back down to her stomach. The change of pace from sadness to happiness is very much welcome. It’s refreshing to feel something other than the utter numbness of grief.

“How do I love this baby so much already?” Chloe sniffles loudly, wiping away some more tears.

“Oh, my dear Chloe,” her mom pulls her into another hug, “you have such a capacity for love. You love so easily and so readily. I knew that any child to come into your life would have your whole heart from the moment you found out.”

“She’s right Chloe,” Aubrey had been leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom, watching the situation unfold.

Chloe’s eyes shoot up at the sound of her best friend’s voice. Aubrey strides into the bathroom and sits down on the other side of Chloe. The blonde wraps her arms tightly around her.

“I’m here for you Chloe,” Aubrey whispers into her shoulder.

Chloe hugs her back tightly, “I know Bree…thank you.”

The red head had told Aubrey that she didn’t need to come stay at her parents with her. She had insisted, joking that Chloe would need an escape from crazy mama and papa Beale eventually. Chloe knew deep down that wasn’t why she had offered to go back to Florida with her. Aubrey had accompanied Chloe to the hospital the night of the accident. She had seen Chloe break. She was scared to see Chloe hit that bottom again without her there. But she has definitely gone above and beyond the duty of a best friend.

Chloe is so utterly grateful for her family and Aubrey. They’ve been nothing but wonderful since she found out she was pregnant. She can’t help but wish she had a certain ex-best friend of hers to talk to. Chloe so desperately wants to pick up her phone and call the short brunette, but she knows she can’t. Even if she could, there’s no guarantee she’d ever pick up. Chloe sighs, still wishing that things had been different for them.


	5. Chapter 5

_Beca’s lips are all over Chloe. Running from her neck all the way down her bare chest. Chloe writhes under her touch, everywhere she goes, she leaves a trail of fire. Then she feels Beca take a stiff peak into her mouth and she can’t help the moan that escapes. Chloe laces her fingers into Beca’s hair, holding her right where she is._

_“Beca…” she pleads, needing the brunette to start moving down to where she really needs her._

_Chloe shifts her hips anxiously as Beca blazes a trail of kisses down her toned stomach, stopping just past her navel. Chloe looks down at her with fire in her eyes as she settles between the red heads legs._

_“Please Becs,” she pleads for her to start doing something other than staring up at her with darkened eyes._

_Beca quickly obliges and presses her tongue to the wetness between Chloe’s legs. Chloe’s hips buck up off the bed at the action. She feels Beca’s hand move to hold her down as she continues to ravage her. When Beca finally latches on to the bundle of nerves seeking her attention, Chloe cries out._

And just like that the buzzing of an alarm brings everything to a startling halt. Chloe’s eyes snap open, confused at the sound. Her chest is heaving and the throb between her legs is almost unbearable. She groans when she realizes what has happened and rolls over to shut the alarm off.

“Ughhh, why me,” she groans, covering her hands with her face.

She’s embarrassed that she’s had _that type_ of dream about Beca after only meeting with her one other time. I mean, they’ve been texting each other back and forth all week since their lunch, but that doesn’t mean she should be having sex dreams about Beca. The idea of shoving her hand down her pajama pants and taking care of herself flashes through her mind and it almost makes her even more embarrassed. Nope, not going to happen today. Chloe rips the covers off and heads to the bathroom for a cold shower instead. Today is the day Chloe is going to be going over to Beca’s and she’s bringing her son as well. It’s a big day, at least she feels like it is.

When Chloe is finally showered, dressed and ready for the day she heads down to the kitchen. Aubrey is already sitting at the counter, sipping her coffee.

“Moring Bree,” Chloe chirps, moving to the coffee maker and pouring herself a cup.

“Morning Chloe,” she doesn’t look up from whatever she is reading on her phone.

Chloe moves to sit down next to her at the counter, “So have you seen my devil child yet today? I went to his room to see if he was awake and he wasn’t there, I assume he’s down here?”

Aubrey laughs, “He barged into our room at 6 am, begging Stacie to play cars or watch cartoons. We tried to get him to lay down and sleep with us again for a while, that worked for like 5 minutes. We both got up finally at like 7 and brought him down here with us. Stacie is in the living room with him playing.”

“Oh my god, sorry Bree,” Chloe shakes her head, “I’m kind of glad he decided on waking you guys up today though.”

“It’s ok Chlo, remember when we asked you guys to live with us, we said we were all in. That means taking turns dealing with an overly excited child at 6 in the morning,” Aubrey set her phone down and is looking at Chloe now, “any particular reason you were grateful for the reprieve today?”

Chloe can feel heat creep onto her cheeks, “I had an interesting dream last night.”

Aubrey smirks at her, clearly tipped off by her red face, “Like a naughty dream?”

“Oh god how did you guess so quickly,” Chloe asks genuinely curious how she hit the nail on the head right away.

“Well who was playing the staring role?” Aubrey asks a little too casually, “Don’t be embarrassed, I’m glad. You haven’t been interested in anyone since Chicago. This is good for you.”

“Umm…” Chloe should have seen it coming that Aubrey would ask who she was dreaming about, “Beca?”

Aubrey looks surprised at the admission, “Isn’t it a little fast to be having sex dreams about her already? You’ve been talking again for like what, 2 seconds?”

The blush is back on Chloe’s cheeks, “I know it’s weird. It’s just seeing her again brought up all those very unresolved feelings I had for her. I didn’t think my mind would jump right back to sexual fantasies but hey stranger things have happened…”

“I’m just worried for you still Chloe. I know you said that you both had worked out some things already. You both agreed to trying to be _friends_ again,” Aubrey stresses the word friends, “I don’t want you falling head over heels for her again without knowing if she feels even remotely the same way.”

“Well what am I supposed to do Bree?” Chloe flails her arms around, talking in a fake voice, “Should I go over there today and just say, hey there Beca. Guess what I have the hots for you. Do you like me? If not, that’s ok but I’ll just be leaving then.”

Aubrey sighs, her hands covering her face, “No. I don’t think you should do that. But just tread lightly ok? I am happy for you that you are trying to reconcile with her, she was…is important to you. But I’ve seen you with you heart broken one too many times to want to have to witness it again.”

The conversation is cut short before Chloe can reply. Stacie and Christopher walk into the kitchen. Stacie looks exhausted already, but her son couldn’t look happier.

“Mommy!” Christopher runs to Chloe, wrapping himself around her legs, “me and Auntie Stacie watched Spongebob and played with my cars all morning!”

“Is that right kiddo?” Chloe runs a hand through his hair and places a kiss on his forehead, “You should say thank you to Aunt Stacie for being your buddy this morning.”

The excited five-year old runs back over to Stacie, now wrapping himself around her long legs, “thank you Auntie Stacie.”

Stacie bends over to hug him back, “Anytime kid.”

“Are you ready for your playdate with Amelia today?” Chloe asks walking over to Stacie and Christopher.

The little kid starts bouncing up and down happily, “Yay! Yes! I like Amelia!”

“That’s good, why don’t we go get you ready so we can leave?” Chloe picks up her son from the ground, ready to take him upstairs. She makes sure to whisper to Stacie before heading up with him, “Thanks Stace, I owe you one.”

“You sure do red,” Stacie jokes back, “I lost beauty sleep for my wonderful little nephew there.”

****************************************************************************

Chloe feels completely out of place as she drives her modest SUV through the streets of Beca’s neighborhood. The houses must cost more than Chloe could ever dream to make in her lifetime. She keeps her eyes trained on the numbers on the gates at the end of the driveway, looking for Beca’s. Chloe is also starting to wonder why Beca chose to send her daughter to the local public school when she could surely afford the best private schools in LA. She tucks the question away at the back of her mind to ask Beca later. After a couple minutes, Chloe finally finds Beca’s house. Her mouth drops open as she pulls up to the literal mansion. The gate opens automatically for her and she drives up the path until she’s stopped in front of a lavish looking garage. She’s sure there’s got to be some damn expensive cars parked in there. She knows Beca is famous, she knows she has money, but it didn’t fully hit her just _how rich and famous_ she is until now. Chloe feels very uncomfortable, maybe she doesn’t belong in Beca’s world. Before she even gets out of the car, she see’s Beca walk out the front door to her right. She waves and is smiling brightly at Chloe. Chloe opens her car door and steps out into the burning California heat.

“Hey Beca,” she greets the brunette.

“Hey Chloe!” Beca finally reaches her, “glad you found me ok.”

“Yea, I think this house would be pretty hard to miss,” Chloe jokes.

“Well you’re not wrong about that,” Beca laughs, “it feels kind of weird for two people to be in such a big house somedays, but it’s nice for entertaining and having friends and family over.”

“Well I better get the little gremlin out of the back,” Chloe motions to her son in the backseat.

“Oh definitely!” Beca replies, feeling bad for distracting the red head from getting her kid from the car, “I can hardly wait to meet him properly.”

Chloe opens the door to the backseat and unbuckles Christopher, he’s babbling away excitedly about getting to play with Amelia. She sets him down on the ground next to her, grabbing his hand knowing he’ll try to run.

“Beca,” she motions at the little person next to her, “this is Christopher.”

“Hey there little buddy,” Beca drops down to his level and extends her hand.

He knows exactly what to do and grabs her hand, “Hi Beca!!”

Beca smiles widely at the little boy before standing back up to face Chloe, “Oh my god, Chlo, he’s the sweetest little thing. And he looks so much like you, he has your eyes for sure.”

“He’s pretty great, isn’t he?” Chloe beams.

The moment the trio walk through the front door of Beca’s home, an energetic little girl tears towards them.

“Christopher!” Amelia screams running towards the little red head.

“Amelia!” he shouts right back at her, the two clipping along at the same speed towards each other now.

Chloe and Beca both cringe as they collide with a smack, sending them both onto their butts. To the relief of their mothers, both the kids laugh it off and stand right back up.

“Come see my playroom!” Amelia grabs Christopher by his hand and the pair are out of sight.

“Play nice!” Beca shouts at them as they go.

When the two are out of sight, Chloe finally takes in her surroundings. For as big and lavish as the house looks outside, Beca has managed to make the inside feel homey.

“You want a drink?” Beca offers, “I know we’re both on mom duty, but one glass of wine won’t hurt.”

Chloe nods, “That would be nice.”

The two make their way back to Beca’s kitchen and she pours them both a glass of wine. Chloe gladly accepts it, taking a long sip, hoping it can calm some of her nerves. She’s still a little anxious around Beca, but today for a new reason. She can’t help thinking about the dream that woke her up, now that’s she right next to the star of her fantasy. Chloe feels awkward thinking about it in Beca’s presence. She can’t help it though, when the brunette looks so stunning with her hair up in a messy bun and minimal make up. Chloe has always thought Beca is the prettiest in her natural state. She quickly shakes the thoughts from her head as Beca leads her through her house.

After a brief tour of the large home, the two find themselves on the sofa in the living room. They’ve just been talking about nothing and everything at the same time, just trying to get reacquainted with each other again. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise to them but neither of them has truly changed that much. They fall back into an easy rhythm of conversation, it’s like no time has passed in seven years. Chloe is relieved that it all feels so natural. She really feels like she has her best friend back, she has her Beca back. She can’t seem to quiet Aubrey’s nagging voice in the back of her head though. Their conversation in the kitchen this morning has been on a constant loop. She can’t let herself get comfortable until she deals with the hard stuff. Chloe really didn’t need Aubrey to tell her that. She knows that she has to completely straighten things about between them before they can actually move forward. Chloe needs some sense of resolution for all those years. She needs to understand why, so she can move forward trusting Beca.

When Chloe’s wine glass is empty, she finally finds the courage to ask Beca, “I really need to know something Becs…I don’t think we really can go any further until I know.”

Beca looks nervous, “Ok, what Chlo?”

“I just have to know,” the nerves she successfully stomped out early are all rushing back, “I have to know why you stopped talking to me all those years ago.”

From the expression on Beca’s face, Chloe can tell she is slowly building her walls up around her. She’s tense and her eyes are focused on one spot of the floor.

It seems like hours pass before she responds, “I don’t know if I’m ready to tell you yet.”

“Ok…” Chloe responds tentatively, “do you think you’ll be ready soon? I really need to understand why before we can keep going with whatever this is.”

“I get that, I do,” Beca says slowly, her hand anxiously curling around the stem of her empty wine glass, “I just…”

Chloe cuts her off, “Then when Beca? For us to make this work we have to be on the same page.”

Beca takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, “I promise I will explain, just can we keep things how they are for now?”

Chloe can feel anger starting to bubble beneath the surface, she wants to keep prodding, but not today. Not when their kids are upstairs playing, this can’t happen with the audience of two five-year olds. This is a talk to be continued when they are alone and childless.

“Ok fine,” she sighs, “I trust you Becs, but we’re going to re-visit this.”

Luckily, the two women move past the tense moment quickly. There’s plenty to talk about with how much time has come between the two. They manage to dance around all the difficult topics, that both would rather not bring up quite yet. It doesn’t take them long though to find themselves reminiscing about their days as bellas and all their crazy college escapades.

Soon both are doubled over laughing as Beca re-tells the tale of Fat Amy flashing her vagina to the president, “I know we were all so upset but…come on it really is hilarious.”

“No, I know, I can definitely laugh about it now,” Chloe grins, her stomach tightening from all the laughter.

Their moment is broken when they hear the cry of one of the kids, “MOOOOMMMYYY!”

Beca sighs, “That doesn’t sound good, can’t tell if it was yours or mine.”

Chloe chuckles, “Well we better both go find out then.”

The two stand up and Beca leads them upstairs to Amelia’s playroom, presumably where the needy cry came from. When get to the room, the sight they see is not at all what either had expected. The two are sitting together in the middle of the room, playing nicely together with Amelia’s expansive set of legos.

“Ok who was screaming bloody murder in here,” Beca says matter-of-factly, her hands landing on her hips as she talks.

Both sets of little eyes stare up at Beca curiously. They both start to giggle and point at each other. Chloe steps in, as much as she would love to watch this play out.

The red head sits on the floor, cross legged, next to the kids, “What’s up you troublemakers?”

Christopher looks at his mother, big blue eyes staring at her like he wants something, “Amelia wants me to stay and eat mac and cheese with her tonight. Can we stay mommy?”

Chloe laughs at her son’s request, “Well I don’t think that’s up to us bug, that’s up to Beca…erm I mean Amelia’s mommy.”

Chloe feels Beca’s hand land on her should gently and she looks up at the younger woman, “Amelia’s mommy would love if you would stay for dinner…hope you didn’t have you heart set on mac and cheese though Chlo.”

“Well I’ll be ok,” she jokes back, “but I don’t know about these two.”

“They’ll get over it,” she waves her hand dismissively.

“Does that mean yes!?” Amelia butts in loudly, clearly excited that her friend is going to be able to have dinner with them.

Chloe nods and smiles warmly at the little girl, “Yes, that means yes.”

The two little kids spring up from the floor and jump up and down excitedly. Chloe watches the two celebrate, and she can’t help the warm fuzzy feeling that spreads from her head down to her toes. She loves this, watching her son play with another kid and be so excited to spend time with her, and not just any other kid, Beca’s daughter. This is what she’s always dreamt of, and no she doesn’t mean her son socializing, she’s talking about her and Beca. Her and Beca being in each other’s lives again. Getting to have their kids play together and be friends.

“Oh to have the energy of a five-year old again,” Beca holds a hand out for Chloe, to help her off the floor.

Chloe gladly accepts, letting Beca help pull her to her feet again, “I know, it’s crazy.”

A few hours later, the four find them sitting around Beca’s kitchen table. Not by the adults choosing, they did end up having mac and cheese. Both Beca and Chloe had offered many different options, but the two kids held their ground and who can say no to them? Beca had offered to make something else for just the two of them. Of course, Chloe had told her mac and cheese was fine, she didn’t want her to go through all the work of making two different meals. As they eat their kid approved meal, Amelia and Christopher chatter away excitedly. Beca and Chloe have light and easy conversation, joking about their past living with Fat Amy in Brooklyn. Chloe’s heart swells at how comfortable this all is, how easy it is to fall into this again with Beca. She can’t help but feel that this is the happiest she’s been in years.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going back in time again! One note about this chapter, there is a lot about their first doctor's appointments in this one, and even though I work in healthcare...I really don't know anything about prenatal appointments and am not an expert on pregnancy. Google was my best friend in writing this one, so there's a good chance the medical stuff isn't that accurate! :)

_*6 years ago*_

****

It’s been a couple weeks since Chloe found out she was pregnant. She stands sideways in front of the mirror in the guest room at her parents, flattening her shirt down tight over her stomach. She knows it’s far too early to notice anything, but she’d like to believe she can see it. She places her hands over her stomach lovingly. After a few moments she lets her hands drop to her sides and grabs the suitcase by her feet. Chloe is finally going home today. Well, not to her home. She can’t bring herself to go back to the little house in Davis just quite yet. In fact, she doesn’t even want to go back to college there. She knows that part might seem silly, but she’s transferring to UCLA. She can’t handle the memories of him there yet. She’s going to be living with Aubrey and Stacie (Aubrey left Florida a few days after Chloe found out she was pregnant). She has decided she won’t live with them long, just until she’s done with school and her baby is a little bit older. Don’t get her wrong, it’s all scary, every little bit of it. How is she going to finish the semester while pregnant? When it finally ends in May she’s going to be pretty pregnant already. Thank god it’s her last semester. She’ll graduate and then won’t have to worry about going back to school in fall, but she’s going to have to find a job while she’s heavily pregnant. That thought alone terrifies her. Her mom has tried convincing her to lay out her last semester and stay with them during her pregnancy. Chloe knows she can’t do that though; she has to go finish school or it will never happen. She loves her parents, but they can be kind of overbearing.

She heads down the stairs to where her parents are waiting anxiously. Her mother comes over to her and hugs her tightly, making Chloe drop the bags she was holding.

“Are you sure Chloe?” Her mom let’s her go and looks at her worriedly, “is it even safe to fly?”

Chloe rolls her eyes, “Mom I’m not THAT pregnant. It’s completely safe and you know it.”

“Oh, I know, I’m just paranoid,” her mom says sniffling, like she’s going to cry.

It’s her dad’s turn to pull her into a tight bear hug, “Love you Chloe bear.”

Chloe laughs, “Dad you’re the one driving me to the airport, we don’t have to do this yet.”

“Maybe I want to do it twice,” he slaps a hand on her back lovingly.

“Just know we’re always a phone call away,” her mom says warmly, still trying not to cry, “and we’ll be flying out before it gets close to your due date. I’ll be damned if I miss the birth of my grandbaby.”

“I’m glad. I love you mom,” she pulls her mom into one more tight hug, before walking out the front door with her dad.

Before she knows it, she’s standing on the doorstep of Aubrey’s house. The flight had gone smooth, it was a direct flight and she had slept through most of it.

“Chloe!” Stacie screams excitedly as she opens the door to the familiar red head.

“Hey Stace,” Chloe steps inside and sets her bags down near the front door, before Stacie pulls her into a hug.

Chloe can’t help but think, while trapped in the leggy brunette’s arms, that she doesn’t think she’s ever had so many hugs than in the last month of her life.

Stacie pulls away after an appropriate amount of time and looks at Chloe with a sparkle in her eyes, “So Aubrey tells me you’ve got a bun in the oven.”

She knows Aubrey was going to tell Stacie, what Aubrey knows, so does Stacie, “Uh yea. I do,” she manages to end it with a smile, still trying to unpack her own feelings on the situation.

“Can hardly wait to be an aunt,” Stacie smiles, “I’m going to corrupt that kid.”

Chloe whacks her on the arm, with a smirk, “NO, you are NOT going to do that!”

“Chloe!” she hears Aubrey, who is now standing at the bottom of the stairs with a smile on her face.

Chloe walks over to her and this time she initiates the hug, having missed her friend’s embrace the past week, “Hey Aubrey.”

Unfortunately, Chloe starts to feel her stomach turn. She’s surprised she made it through the entire flight without “morning sickness”. That name is bullshit, it’s all day sickness. She rips away from Aubrey and dashes up the stairs to the nearest bathroom she can remember. After she dispels her entire breakfast and cleans up her face, she leaves the bathroom to find a concerned looking Aubrey and Stacie.

“Morning sickness still getting you pretty bad?” the blonde rubs her back comfortingly.

Chloe nods, “I feel like it just keeps getting worse.”

“Well maybe tomorrow at your first doctor’s appointment we can ask about something to help it,” Aubrey suggests.

Chloe raises an eyebrow at her words, “We?”

“Yes, we, I am your support system through this. I’m not letting you do it alone,” Aubrey pulls her girlfriends hand so she’s standing closer to the pair, “we’re both not letting you do this alone.”

Chloe’s chest fills with warmth and love for her two dear friends. She truly is never going to be able to repay them for all their kindness, “So you’re both coming to the doctor’s tomorrow?”

Aubrey and Stacie laugh at her question, “Well I let Stacie get out of that one. Unless you want her to, then she will definitely be there.”

Stacie sticks her tongue out at her girlfriend, “So controlling this one. I’ll be there if you want me Chlo.”

“It’s ok Stacie you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Chloe is just grateful that she offered, and is more than happy she’ll have someone there with her. Because honestly, she’s kind of scared. She was scared to do this alone, but now she knows she’s not alone. Not at all, in any of this.

To Chloe’s surprise, all three of them end up going to Chloe’s first prenatal appointment. It’s kind of weird all three of them sitting in the small exam room, like some dysfunctional little family. Chloe has already perched on the exam table, Stacie in a chair off to the side and Aubrey is standing right next to the exam table, her hand on Chloe’s. They hear a soft knock on the door and the doctor walks into the crowded room. All three sets of eyes look over to the young-looking woman who just entered.

“She’s definitely not old enough to have gone through med school,” Stacie whispers, barely audible, but Chloe hears.

Chloe coughs to cover up the comment, smiling at the doctor kindly.

“Chloe,” the woman walks over and grabs her hand, “nice to meet you, I’m Dr. Stevenson.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Chloe replies politely.

She can see Dr. Stevenson scanning the room curiously, her eyes landing on the hand holding her own, then over to Stacie. She can see the questions forming.

“So, is this the other soon to be mom?” she looks at Aubrey.

“Oh ha, no. I’m her best friend. That’s my girlfriend,” Aubrey just laughs and points at Stacie, who waves awkwardly from the chair across the room.

“Dad’s not in the picture,” Chloe supplies the information before the doctor can ask.

“Oh, that’s too bad…” she starts to say.

Chloe cuts her off quickly, “He’s dead.”

You could slice the awkward tension in the room with a knife at this point. Because yea, that all just happened in less than a minute of the doctor walking in. Chloe wants to dissolve into the floor.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” the Doctor quickly recovers from the moment to offer her apologies.

“Thank you,” Chloe replies, she can feel a blush rising on her cheeks.

“Ok, so we got your blood work back from earlier,” she looks down at the clipboard she’s holding, “you are actually 9 weeks pregnant already.”

“Really?” Chloe asks in genuine surprise, she had attempted trying to figure out when she had conceived, but apparently, she was wrong.

The doctor nods, continuing to tell Chloe about where she should be and what to expect soon. She really feels like she should start doing some reading on pregnancy or something. Maybe some preparedness would make her feel better.

“Any concerns or questions before we start the ultrasound?” Dr. Stevenson asks.

“When do we find out if it’s got a ding-dong or hoo-ha? Stacie interjects from her corner.

“STACIE,” both Chloe and Aubrey bark at the other girl.

Stacie just looks like she’s holding back laughter.

The doctor seems to brush it off and smiles at Stacie, “that’s usually around 4 ½ months.”

“Damn,” Stacie replies, clearly disappointed.

“But you will see the baby today and hear it’s heartbeat,” Dr. Stevenson makes sure to add.

Now that Chloe is excited about. That makes this whole, insane trip worth it.

“Ok, ready to see your baby?” The doctor asks, clearing seeing Chloe’s excitement.

“Wait,” Aubrey stops them, “actually she’s really been struggling with morning sickness. Is there anything she can do to help it?”

Oh right. Chloe forgot about that in her excitement to see her baby.

“Definitely, I can write you a prescription for some anti-nausea medication. I’ll send it over to the pharmacy you have listed in your chart, any other questions?”

Chloe shakes her head, “let’s see this baby.”

Chloe lays down on the table and lifts her shirt up, already knowing that’s what the doctor was going to do.

“This is going to feel a little cold,” she warns Chloe before squirting the clear jelly onto her stomach.

She spreads it around and moves the wand on her stomach, searching for the right spot. After a minute, the doctor turns the screen so all three can see, Stacie now standing next to Aubrey in anticipation.

“Right there, that’s your baby,” she points at the little blob in the screen, then clicks at something else on the screen, “and that’s its heartbeat.”

The room is filled with a fast thudding sound. Chloe is transfixed on the little squiggle on the screen and overwhelmed at the sound of the heartbeat. It’s really real. There is a little tiny life forming inside of her. She’s going to have a baby; she’s going to be a mom. Before she realizes it, she feels a tear roll down her cheek.

She can feel Aubrey squeeze her hand again, “Amazing, isn’t it?”

Chloe just nods, still stunned speechless by the whole experience. Chloe is still stunned an hour later, all three now back at home. She’s clutching onto the little picture of the ultrasound the doctor had printed out for her. She knew it was real before, this just made it REAL. She’s excited and exhausted. The whirlwind of emotions she’s dealt with in the last two weeks have been unreal. She’s so emotionally drained. Chloe just wishes that she wasn’t still grieving while all this is happening. Being pregnant is hard enough without dealing with having a dead husband. She just hopes that she can be in a better place when the baby is born.

****************************************************************

Beca has quickly found out that being pregnant is not as easy as she had thought. She clutches the sides of the porcelain bowl her face is currently in, everything she’s eaten in her entire lifetime flying out of her. She feels a hand on her back and her hair being pulled away from her face. Finally, she’s expelled what she has to offer and kneels away from the toilet. Jesse rubs her back soothingly and hands her an already wet washcloth for her face. She accepts it gratefully, wiping any evidence of vomit off her face.

“God, this sucks,” Beca leans back to sit on the floor, landing with a hard thud.

“I know babe,” Jesse says softly, “I hate to see you suffer but I’m so proud of you for growing our little pomegranate seed.”

Jesse downloaded an app that compares the size of your baby to fruit, week by week. Beca thought it was kind of funny at first, but she can tell it’s going to get annoying. She isn’t necessarily down for referring to their baby as a pomegranate seed. She’s not going to take his fun away quite yet though, plus she’s actually kind of curious about what the fruit will be when it’s bigger.

“What time is it?” Beca asks wearily, nervous to hear the answer. It feels like she’s spent two lifetimes in this bathroom already.

“9am,” Jesse replies, pulling his phone from his pocket to check.

“Shit, I should be at the studio already,” she’s about to stand up when Jesse puts a hand out to stop her.

“Take it easy Becs, you aren’t feeling good. You’re pregnant. They’ll understand.”

“Yea, but me being there is kind of important, as in they don’t have anything to do if I’m not there. Plus, they don’t know I’m pregnant yet,” she stands up, this time Jesse lets her, “shouldn’t you be at work too?”

Jesse stands up as well, rubbing the back of his neck, “I uh kind of called them and said I would be late. I didn’t want to leave you here alone while you were struggling.”

She smiles at his admission, “What would I do without you dude?”

“Well for one, you’d be here all alone puking your guts out. So, there’s that…but then again, if you didn’t have me there’d be no reason you’re puking your guts out,” he puts a hand up to his chin in fake contemplation, “maybe you shouldn’t be grateful. I’m kind of to blame for this.”

“You’re right,” Beca quips back, “thanks a lot asshole.”

Beca moves around him in a flurry, trying to get ready to go to the studio. Jesse stands in the middle of the bathroom watching her dumbfounded.

“Beca, are you sure you should be going in today? You were just violently ill all morning?” he sounds concerned but Beca can’t help but be annoyed.

“I’m going in Jesse; it’s called being pregnant. I want to go,” ok maybe she doesn’t really want to go in, she feels like shit, but he doesn’t need to know that, “I don’t need to be babied.”

Jesse puts his hands up, “Wow ok, sorry for helping. Guess I’ll get ready and go to work too.”

He stomps out of the bathroom. Beca rolls her eyes. Ok maybe she’s being kind of a jerk to the guy that stayed home to hold her hair back, but she’s cranky and tired. When she’s finally ready, she heads into the kitchen to find Jesse there making a travel mug of coffee.

“Jes, I’m sorry about before,” she apologizes, grabbing the box of saltines from the cupboard, she needs to try and put something into her stomach.

He nods, his feeling still clearly hurt, “It’s fine. Can’t blame you for being a little snippy after throwing up all morning.” 

Beca opens the box of crackers and takes one of the sleeves out, throwing it into her bag, “Are you still going to be able to come to my doctor’s appointment tomorrow?”

Now he turns to her, plastering a small smile onto his face, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world Becs.”

“Awes,” she cringes slightly at the use of the word, Chloe’s dialect still slipping into her speech without her even noticing. God, she misses her sometimes, but not really sometimes, more like all the time.

“Take good care of the pomegranate seed today!” Jesse bellows as she heads out the door, he’s clearly already in better spirits.

Beca can’t help but let her thoughts drift back to the bubbly red head as she starts driving towards the studio. Truth be told, Chloe has been on her mind a lot recently. Amy, Cynthia Rose, and Flo had all called her in the span of a day to tell her Chloe was pregnant. The news had shocked her, considering Chicago had recently died. That alone had captured her thoughts for a good week or two, wondering if she should finally pick up the phone and call her. Her fear got the better of her once again and she never did. Now she’s pregnant. Just like Beca. It’s ironic. If they were still friends they would be having a good laugh over it. They’d be trading pregnancy stories and helping each other narrow down baby names. Beca wonders if any of the other bellas told Chloe she was pregnant? She shakes her head, of course they wouldn’t. They only tell Beca about Chloe because she had badgers them about her, and well none of them can keep a secret for very long. For example, three of them calling her to tell her about Chloe’s pregnancy, completely unprovoked by Beca.

When Beca finally arrives at the studio, she knows she’s going to have to give everyone some kind of excuse as to why she’s so late. Honestly, she might as well just tell them. They’re going to find out eventually anyways. As soon as she walks in, 5 sets of eyes are immediately on her.

Before they can even ask, Beca is talking, “Sorry I’m late. I was throwing up, all morning…and I’m pulling an exorcist like every morning, because I’m pregnant.”

“Beca! Oh my god!” her assistant Hazel comes rushing over to her and wraps her in a tight hug, “congratulations!”

Pretty soon four more people are crowded around Beca, hugging her and doling out their congratulations. This is exactly why she was putting off telling them, her bubble is being seriously invaded.

She finally pushes the last person away and takes a deep breath, “Ok guys, thanks! Let’s get some work done, yea?”

***********************************************************

Beca hates going to the doctor. She hates people in her personal space, poking and prodding at her. She hates the smell of the whole environment. She hates the crinkly paper that lines the rock-hard exam table. So to say the least, Beca is not a happy camper right now. Jesse on the other hand is overly excited, which in turn is just making Beca even more annoyed. Beca just had all the preliminary questions and tests done and her blood drawn. Currently, they are waiting in the little exam room for the doctor. Jesse is looking at some wooden pregnancy model. Or maybe it’s plastic? Whatever, as long as he doesn’t break it.

“Oops,” Jesse laughs as the model basically spontaneously combusts into a million pieces all over the counter and floor.

She spoke way too soon on that one, “For real Jesse?”

“I just wanted to look at it,” he’s grabbing the pieces from all over the floor and counter, setting them in a neat pile, “I didn’t think it would explode on me.”

Before she can reprimand him, the door opens and the doctor walks in. Perfect. Just in time to witness her husband’s idiocy.

Her eyes quickly scan over to Jesse’s little disaster, “Oh don’t worry, that happens more often than you would think.”

“Good, glad I’m not the only one with a special husband,” Beca glares over at him.

The doctor just laughs at Beca’s comment, thank god she seems like she’s got a sense of humor. She’s going to need one to deal with her and Jesse.

“I’m Dr. Bowman, nice to meet you Beca,” she extends a hand to Beca and then looks over at Jesse, holding her hand out to him as well, “and you must be dad.”

He shakes her hand, still looking a little sheepish from the incident with the model, “I’m Jesse.”

“Nice to meet you Jesse,” she replies warmly, then turns to Beca, ready to get down to business, “Alright, so Beca you are about six weeks pregnant. So, the morning sickness you mentioned is perfectly normal for this stage of pregnancy. If it gets too bad, I can give you something for it. Any particular questions or concerns for me?”

“Is it bad to be having some cramping?” this was one of the concerns she didn’t share with Jesse, knowing he would have freaked out, “I’ve had it on and off for a few days.”

Dr. Bowman shakes her head no, “That is completely normal. You can have cramping for up sixteen weeks on and off. If they would become severe or you would start bleeding though, that’s when we have a problem. But it is nothing to worry about.”

“Ok good,” Beca actually feels very relieved, she didn’t want it to mean there was something wrong.

“Becs, why didn’t you tell me?” Jesse asks worriedly.

“I didn’t want to scare you or make you freak out,” Beca waves her hand, dismissing his concern.

“Ready to see your baby guys?” the doctor asks.

Beca nods and lays back onto the table.

“Ok I’m just going to lift up your shirt here,” she goes to lift the hem of Beca’s stomach, exposing it to the cold air of the exam room, “this is going to be a little cold.”

Beca winces not prepared for how cold the clear gel really is as it lands on her lower stomach. The doctor moves the wand around looking for the right spot. Dr. Bowman smiles at the screen she’s staring at and turns it around for Beca and Jesse to look at.

She points to the non-descript looking blob on the screen, “There it is. That’s your baby.”

Beca feels Jesse squeeze her hand, “Becs look it’s our little pomegranate seed.”

She looks up at her husband, whose eyes are glassy with tears, “I know. Pretty cool isn’t it?”

“And,” the doctor does something on the computer and a sound fills the room, “that’s your baby’s heartbeat.”

“Oh my god Becs,” Jesse is even more in awe, “is it supposed to be that fast?”

“Yes, that’s a normal heart rate. Babies heart rates are quite fast,” Dr. Bowman explains.

Both Beca and Jesse stare at the “pomegranate seed” for quite some time before the doctor turns the screen back around.

“Do you want me to print you a picture?” she asks.

“Yes!” Jesse immediately answers before Beca can say anything.

On the way home, Beca wonders why she hadn’t been as excited as Jesse to see the baby. It hadn’t been that exciting, it was just a little blob. At the same time, she feels bad. She should be excited. She should have cried and felt her heart fill with love. Does that mean she’s going to be a bad mom? Or is she just too stone cold to love her baby yet? It makes her feel like crying. She doesn’t want to tell Jesse. He’s so happy and she doesn’t want to rain on his sunshine. So instead, she stares at the ultrasound picture, hoping that the magic moment of love will just happen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I used the lyrics from the song “You” by A Great Big World (because I’m not that creative and couldn’t write my own song lol.) Go listen to it, it’s a good song and very fitting for bechloe in this story 😊

Beca’s heart practically stopped the day she saw the familiar red head in the hallway of Amelia’s school. She genuinely thought she was hallucinating, driven by deep loneliness and unresolved feelings she has been harboring for so long. Chloe was there though, very much real and very much a parent, just like herself. Ever since that day, Beca has felt a sense of completeness. Like every day between the last time she saw Chloe and that day in the school, there was this hole, this void that Beca couldn’t fill, no matter how hard she tried. She tried to fill it with Jesse. That had worked for a while, until it just didn’t anymore. She tried to fill it with a random string of boyfriends and girlfriends. She wasn’t proud of that part. For a year, she had had so many different partners, which was confusing and unfair to her daughter. She remembers how Jesse had scolded when he came to pick him up for his weekend. He told her it wasn’t right or fair for her to be bringing them around their daughter, until she knew it was serious. So that led her to sneaking around, bringing people over when Jesse had Amelia, or when she could get a babysitter. That sneaking around eventually turned into random hook ups. She found that the majority of her hook ups were slowly becoming women. Even more slowly, those women all started to have a striking similarity to an ex-best friend of hers. She didn’t really put it all together until she had accidentally called out Chloe’s name during sex with one of them. After that the hook ups stopped.

As much as Beca would like to say that she doesn’t have feelings for Chloe anymore, it just isn’t true. Those feelings never really went away. She had buried them and ignored them for almost all of her marriage to Jesse, until they crept up again like a stubborn weed. Which is why when Beca saw her that day at school, she just knew she had to say something to her. It was her chance to finally speak to Chloe again. She had picked up the phone so many times and dialed Chloe’s number, only to hang up before she could even answer. She was ashamed of shutting her out for so long. Beca also knew that the damage had already been done.

She doesn’t regret it for two seconds, because apparently Chloe was just as excited to speak to Beca again. The older girl seemingly forgetting all the wounds that could be re-opened. Ignoring the fact that Beca had iced her out for the most selfish of reasons, which Chloe didn’t even know about. Chloe has only called her out once on it. Beca knows it’s going to be brought up again, she can feel it. She doesn’t blame Chloe, she would want to know too.

Beca wishes she would have had to balls to tell Chloe when she asked that night at her house. It was her chance to speak up and say that she ignored her because she was in love – is in love with her. But once again Beca choked. She’s starting to actually lose track of how many missed shots she’s had. There were multiple occasions when they were living in Brooklyn together where Beca had tried to confess her feelings, and she just choked. She choked over and over again, until it was too late. Chloe got a boyfriend. Chloe married that boyfriend. Beca had waited too long. She’s starting to think she’s just destined to die with these feelings. But she’s quickly realizing that she’s got nothing to lose anymore. Which is why next time Chloe asks…Beca is telling her the truth, not matter how awkward and painful it might be.

It’s been two months since Beca and Chloe started talking again. A day hasn’t gone by where they haven’t seen or talked to each other in some way. They get together on the weekends and let the kids play, sometimes even a school night for dinner if they are all free. Chloe started pushing back her first patient of the day twice a week at work, so her and Beca could get coffee after dropping the kids off. Today is a special day though. It’s one of the rare Fridays that Chloe has off from work and Beca has a surprise in store. On a normal Chloe doesn’t work Friday, they would go grab coffee and then part ways, so Beca could go to the studio. But today Beca is going to take Chloe out to breakfast, and then she is going to bring her to the studio with her. Beca knows that Chloe is going to love every second of it. She knows music is still very important to Chloe and that she’s going to love seeing all the behind the scenes of the creative process.

Beca told her that something special was going to happen today, so they decided to carpool and drop both of their kids off together. So now all four of them are packed into Beca’s Audi, on the way to the school. Chloe is radiating excitement next to her in the passenger seat.

“Can you at least give me a hint Becs?” she pleads, giving Beca her best puppy dog eyes.

Beca shakes her head, “No way Beale. Not gonna happen.”

Beca actually has a little extra something up her sleeve. She’s been working on a new song and she’s recording it today. The song is special to Beca, really special. She’s sure Chloe will understand why when she hears it.

“Ok fine,” Chloe huffs, crossing her arms over her chest and stares angrily out the window.

“The fake angry pout? Really Chlo?” Beca laughs, “Nice try. You’ll find out soon enough.”

“I’ll have you know, my fake anger is 99% effective,” Chloe snaps back.

“Well you found your 1%,” she looks in the rearview mirror at Christopher in the backseat, “Hey little dude, your mom is throwing a tantrum. What do we say about tantrums?”

“They’re bad and to not throw tantrums!” the little red head shouts.

Beca looks over at Chloe, who is clearly trying to hold back her laughter.

“Huh, would you look at that, looks like your kid knows better than you do,” Beca smirks.

“You are cruel and unusual Beca Mitchell,” Chloe finally lets her composure breaks and laughs at the whole situation that just happened.

Beca laughs along with her, the two kids in the backseat ignoring their crazy moms.

When they finally drop the kids off Chloe is quick to start asking questions again, “Where’s the first stop boss? What are we doing?”

“Calm down, you’ll find out,” Beca smiles at Chloe’s enthusiasm, “I guess I can tell you the first part, I’m taking you to my favorite breakfast place in LA.”

Beca looks over at Chloe, who now has a megawatt smile plastered on her face, “They better have good pancakes.”

“Would I even consider taking you there if they didn’t dude?”

“I suppose you’re right, but I’ll be the judge of that,” Chloe replies.

Beca finally parks her car in front of a modest looking diner, nothing special from the outside. That’s what Beca thought the first time someone brought her here, but the breakfast is to die for. She can tell that’s what Chloe’s thinking as she glances out the window at it skeptically.

“Trust me it’s good,” Beca gets out of the car and Chloe follows suit.

They walk in and the hostess seats them quickly. Beca opens the menu up and turns hers upside down so Chloe can see.

“Now those are what you’re going to wanna get,” Beca points at the double chocolate chips pancakes, “if you’re going to properly asses the pancake situation.”

Chloe doesn’t even open up her menu after Beca points it out, “Ok, that’s what I’m going to get then.”

The waitress finally walks up to their table and they both place their orders.

“So,” Chloe starts, “how do you know about all these places that I’ve never heard of and I’ve lived in LA for six years?”

“I don’t know,” Beca shrugs, “I started hanging out with a lot of people in the music biz when I first moved here, and they all seem to know what’s up. I just learn from them.”

“Hmm, well we’re going to have to have dates more often then,” Chloe smirks suggestively and sips her coffee.

Beca practically spits her coffee all over the table. She wants to counteract Chloe’s rogue flirting so bad, but her mouth has gone dry. Even though they’ve been hanging out for a couple months now, Chloe hasn’t flirted with her like that yet. Chloe hasn’t said anything remotely close to something like that since New York. Chloe has a flirty nature though, so she’s surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.

“So, this is a date then?” Beca finally squeaks out, trying to act cool but failing desperately.

Chloe stares at her from across the table, her eyes glittering with a playfulness Beca can’t quite put her finger on. All Beca knows is that she thinks Chloe looks beautiful right now.

“Do you want it to be a date?” Chloe confidently asks back.

Old Beca would have dramatically shaken her head no, but current Beca is shaking her head yes before she can even consider the action.

The look that Chloe gives her absolutely floors her, “Ok good, because I would really like it if it was.”

Thankfully, this is when the waitress chooses to show up with their pancakes. Beca is somewhat grateful, she wasn’t sure how she was going to reply to that. Chloe’s eyes light up when the waitress sets down her plate.

“Oh my god Becs, these look so good!” she squeals.

“Wait ‘til you taste them,” Beca digs right in, shoveling a large amount of chocolatey pancake into her mouth.

She watches Chloe intently, as she takes her first bite. Her eyes shut and she smiles as the first bit of chocolatey goodness hits her tongue.

“Mmmm, oh god…you’re right,” she opens her eyes finally, after her almost awkward reaction to the breakfast food in front of her, “we should switch from coffee to breakfast every week.”

“We can definitely do that.”

Beca feels like she’ll never walk again after she’s finished her whole plate of pancakes. Chloe looks like she feels similarly. She’s about to ask her, when the waitress comes by with the check.

“Thank you, everything was delicious,” Beca thanks her as she takes the small booklet.

“Oh, she didn’t split them did she,” Chloe looks worried as she realizes there’s only one receipt, “I can give you some cash.”

Beca waves her hand dismissively, “Put the green away Beale, I’m paying.”

Chloe smiles, the playful look from before all over her face, “Wow, this must really be a date then.”

Beca just feels her face burn red as she slips her credit card into the booklet. Maybe she’s been wrong in assuming Chloe doesn’t feel anything for her. The thought makes Beca tingle. This only means her next surprise is going to be even more meaningful. When the two leave the restaurant and get back in Beca’s car, the questions start again.

“Ok now where are we going?” Chloe asks before Beca even has the key in the ignition.

“You’re relentless,” Beca laughs at Chloe’s persistence, “this one I’m not revealing before we actually get there.”

“Ugh fine,” Chloe leans back in the seat, arms crossed like she’s pouting, but a smile still on her face.

On the drive there, Beca starts to feel more and more anxious. She’s so excited to show Chloe this part of her life, but she’s so nervous for her to hear the song she’s recording. It’s revealing and personal. It’s about Chloe. Beca knows Chloe will pick up on the fact that it’s for her. She’s starting to think she’s a fool for doing this. She’s laying out all her cards on the table with this move. She can’t keep hiding behind her fear though.

When she finally pulls up to the studio, Chloe whips her head toward Beca, eyes glittering with excitement, “Are we where I think we are?”

Beca nods, amused at Chloe’s enthusiasm, “If you think we’re at the studio where I record, then yes.”

Chloe just screams excitedly and pulls Beca into an awkward hug over the center console of the car. Beca happily laughs, embracing Chloe as tight as she can at the weird angle. Sooner than she’d like, Chloe pulls away and is suddenly outside the car, ready to go. Beca quickly gets out, grabbing her bag from the backseat.

“Ok eager beaver, let’s go!” Beca leads the two of them into the building.

As soon as they get inside, Beca makes sure to introduce Chloe to the rest of her team. Chloe charmingly greets all of them, she seems to have everyone wrapped around her finger in a matter of minutes. She can’t really blame them.

“Chloe is so funny,” Hazel, her assistant pokes Beca in the arm, “you need to bring her around more often.”

“We’ll have to see about that, it seems like you guys like her better than me. Can’t have that,” Beca jokes with a smirk directed at Chloe.

Chloe feigns being offended, her hand flying up to her chest, “Of course they like me better, don’t be too jealous Mitchell.”

“Yea whatever Beale.”

“So, am I going to get hear a Beca Mitchell song yet to be released today?” Chloe asks excitedly.

Beca nods, “Actually yes you are. It’s an important one.”

Chloe beams at her words, “Guess I should feel pretty special then.”

Beca places her hand on top of Chloe’s, “You definitely should.”

Beca finally gets into the sound booth after they hash out a few more details. Now her nerves now in high gear. She grabs the headphones and places them over her ears, it’s now or never. She can see Chloe staring at her intently from the other side of the glass, sitting at the soundboard next to the others. Beca gives a thumbs up, signaling she’s ready to start. Soon the sound of soft guitar fills her ears and she starts singing.

_Way beyond the stars was a dream there waiting for a dreamer  
To dream her  
Barely just a spark in the open darkness of the ether  
The world beneath her  
I never could imagine how my life would change the day you came  
And how all my fears and worries would just wash away_

_I never saw it coming  
And one day all of a sudden  
There was you, you, you, you  
I don't have to live without you anymore_

After the first verse she realizes her eyes have closed, she opens them and immediately locks eyes with Chloe. She’s watching Beca so intently.

_How could it be so that a heart this full could burst wide open  
Be reawoken  
Little did I know what a simple thought could set in motion  
A drop in the ocean_

_I've never seen the flowers or a sky so blue  
It's all brand new  
Like the sign on the horizon coming into view_

She hasn’t broken eye contact with Chloe yet, directing every word of the that second verse at her. She looks emotional now. Beca can see from here how glassy her eyes are already. She knows the words are impacting her as much as they are Beca. She closes her eyes again for the chorus, needing to break the intense eye contact.

_I spent my whole life running  
Then one day all of a sudden  
There was you, you, you, you  
There was you, you, you, you  
I don't have to live without you anymore_

Beca feels more steady after that verse, so she opens her eyes again for the last chorus, wanting to pour as much emotion into it as she can.

_I never saw it coming  
Then one day all of a sudden_

_There was you, you, you, you  
There was you, you, you, you  
I don't have to live without you anymore  
I don't have to live without you anymore_

Beca pulls the headphones from her ears as soon as the song is over. Everyone on the other side of the glass is giving her thumbs up and telling her how great she was. Except for Chloe, who has seemed to move from her chair, and is standing in the corner of the room.

“You want to do another take for good measure?” Dave, one of the producers asks.

Beca shakes her head, “Um, can I actually get a minute here guys. Why don’t you take five, go grab a coffee or something?”

They all nod, “Sounds good, we can do that.”

After most everyone has left the room, Beca leaves the sound booth and walks over to Chloe.

Beca places a hand on Chloe’s shoulder, “Chlo, are you ok?”

She spins around to face Beca, tears still in her eyes, “Beca that was beautiful…and please correct me if I’m mistaken, that song was about me? Please tell me my head isn’t making that up…because the way you were looking at me…”

Beca stops her emotional rambling, “Yes Chloe, it was about you. It was FOR you.”

Chloe pulls her into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around her. They stand that way for a few minutes before Chloe pulls away slightly, so she can see Beca.

“Wow, this really IS a date,” Chloe has stopped crying, but her eyes are still swimming with emotion.

Beca’s stomach flutters, still riding the high of “performing” she finds a moment of bravery, “I would like to take you on another date. A real date, one where we both know it before the meal. One of those cheesy clichés, where you dress up and I bring you flowers and we steal glances across of table of Italian food and wine. I would like to give that a shot…if you weren’t kidding that is. If you were joking forget everything I just said.”

“Oh Beca,” Chloe whimpers, “Yes, yes I would love that more than anything…but I can’t, not yet.”

Beca feels like her heart breaks in two, she steps out of Chloe’s embrace to look at her properly, “Chlo, why?”

“Remember that first night I came to your house,” Beca can tell she’s struggling with saying this, “I said we can’t take this any further until I know why. I need to know why you stopped talking to me. It’s time, I need to know. We can’t start something on shaky ground like this, on lies and secrets. Believe me, I want to say yes to you, but we have to work out that part first. I’ve had my heart broken and I’m not about to do that again.”

Beca feels like the air has been sucked from her lungs, she’s going to choke again. She can’t do it, “I…Chloe, I…”

“How do I know you aren’t going to leave me again,” Chloe mutters, barely above a whisper.

Beca steps forward and grabs both of Chloe’s hands into hers, “You have to trust me, Chlo. I’m not going to do that; you just have to believe me.”

Chloe shakes her head, tears threatening to spill over once again, “I have a hard time trusting you after you said you would never leave my side and now here we are 7 years later, and I don’t even have a good enough reason to why it even happened.”

They’ve reached a crossroads. Beca can feel it. Either she tells her know and deals with the consequences or she doesn’t, and Chloe walks out of her life and easily as she walked in.

Beca takes a deep breath, “For years and years I tried to tell you how I felt about you but I could never get the words out. That weekend you came out to LA to tell me about your wedding…I was going to tell you. I was going to tell you I loved you.”

Chloe gasps, her hands dropping from Beca’s.

Beca doesn’t wait for a response or reaction, just keeps explaining, “I waited too long, I know I did. I knew you had a boyfriend, but I thought I would get my last-ditch effort in. Then you told me…and my heart broke. It was easier to not talk to you. It was less painful to not be a part of things. I tried to forget you, but it never worked. I’ve never stopped thinking of you.”

Chloe is crying once again, but this time Beca can’t tell if they are happy or not, “Why didn’t you tell me Beca?”

“I wasn’t about to break up your wedding, I wasn’t about to split you apart from your fiancé,” Beca says in a shaky voice.

“Yea I would have been pissed…” Chloe looks up at the ceiling exasperated, “it would have been horrible timing…but Beca. I would have ended it with him. He was my SECOND CHOICE. He was the distraction. I needed to try and be happy because I liked you for so long and you never said anything. You shot down my advances. You didn’t pick up on the clues. And yes, I loved him, but Beca I would have given it all up for you, I loved you more. I would have chosen you.”

This time Beca gasps, she feels dizzy, “I need to sit down.”

She pulls a chair over and sits down, focusing on deep breaths in and out. Chloe just stares at her, tears still in her eyes.

“Chloe, I had no idea you felt that way. Ever. I guess I’m a bigger idiot than I thought,” Beca puts her head in her hands, “I wish I would have said something.”

Chloe sits down in the chair next to her, “What’s done is done. At least I know now. At least I know that it wasn’t something I did…or said.”

“No Chlo, never. It was me being a coward,” Beca truly feels horrible for never trying to speak up, for never fighting for Chloe.

Chloe’s next question knocks the air out of Beca’s lungs once again, “Do you still love me?”

Beca’s eyes lock with sparkling blue ones, the next word she says is going to change it all, “Yes.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have another flashback before I continue on from that cliffhanger in the last chapter :)

_*6 years ago*_

“Chloe sit still!” Aubrey snaps, “Do you want me to burn the back of your neck with this curling iron?”

“I’m sorry Bree, I can’t help it,” she shifts uncomfortably again on the hard kitchen chair they dragged into the bathroom, “this kid keeps jumping around on my bladder.”

She sees Aubrey’s eyes soften in the mirror behind her, “I know…do you need to pee again before we keep going?”

“Might as well,” Chloe stands up and walks over to the toilet, completely ignoring her best friends’ presence in the room. With all this pregnancy stuff, her and Aubrey’s boundary line has 100% disappeared.

“How are you going to make it through the entire graduation ceremony without peeing your pants?” Aubrey asks skeptically, as Chloe finishes up.

She stands up and flushes the toilet, walking over to the sink to wash her hands, giving the blonde a glare in the process, “Ha very funny. We’re going to just hope for the best. There isn’t really a guidebook on how to walk in your graduation while 7 months pregnant.”

“I’m sorry it was an honest question,” Aubrey lifts the curling iron back to Chloe’s head as she sits down, “Maybe you should wear an adult diaper or something?”

Chloe can’t help but laugh at that one, “I am NOT wearing an adult diaper. We are just hoping this child doesn’t continue to use my bladder as a trampoline.”

The two fall back into silence as Aubrey works to curl her hair. Chloe is so excited to graduate from her veterinarian program at UCLA. She’s been waiting for this forever; she just didn’t think pregnancy was going to pose the challenges it did logistically. For starters, she had to get a graduation gown that was far too large to accommodate her very large stomach. She feels like a big blue bowling ball with it on. Second, she can’t really wear heels with her swollen feet and again large stomach, so she’s going to be a short, round bowling ball. Third, she’s got to pee. Like all the time. At least this will be a really cool story to tell her son or daughter someday. They got to be a part of their mom’s graduation.

“Did you parents make it to their hotel ok last night?” Aubrey asks seeming somewhat concerned.

Chloe nods, “Yea, I don’t know why they wouldn’t let one of us drive them there. But yea they survived their first uber ride and apparently got a good night’s sleep.”

Chloe’s parents and younger sister flew into LA last night, so they could be there for her graduation today. Aubrey had offered to let them stay at the house, but Chloe’s parents had insisted it would be imposing to much. Now Chloe’s sister, Cassie, had been a different story. The broke, 21-year-old college student had jumped on the opportunity to save some money and get out of staying in the same hotel room with her parents. She had crashed on the sofa last night and seemed to make fast friends with Stacie. The two are downstairs right now, presumably eating some breakfast. Ugh breakfast, Chloe’s stomach growls loudly at the thought. Aubrey had her up and in her torture chair the moment she woke up. It really is Chloe’s fault; she had asked Aubrey to curl her hair and do her makeup. Tasks, in hindsight, she could have easily done herself, but hey she’s not ashamed of milking the pregnancy card when she can.

“Are you excited for your baby shower tomorrow?” Aubrey asks.

“Yea, it’s going to be fun. I’m excited to have most of the bellas together,” it’s going to be a busy weekend for Chloe. She had decided as long as her parents were going to be in town for her graduation, that they might as well do her baby shower as well. She didn’t want her parents wasting all that money to fly out again, when they are still coming back after the baby is born too. Some of the bellas will be at her graduation today, the rest are flying in later for the baby shower tomorrow. All of them except for one…the one Chloe would have been most excited to see. It pains her that Beca isn’t a part of these big milestones in her life. She still finds herself wondering where they went wrong, what she did.

“I’m really excited for all of the bellas to be together too,” Aubrey hums happily behind her, Chloe’s hair almost completely curled now.

“Not all the bellas…” Chloe says grumpily, she really can’t handle these pregnancy mood swings.

Aubrey, not wanting to bring up a sore subject and worsen Chloe’s mood, doesn’t even entertain the thought, “Close enough though. Pretty good odds when you think about it.”

“I guess,” Chloe shrugs.

Aubrey hugs her from behind and looks at them both in the mirror, “Chlo, you look absolutely beautiful.”

“Are you just saying that because you were the one to curl my hair and do my makeup?” Chloe laughs.

“Of course not, but I will definitely take any credit for compliments given today,” her best friend jokes, “Now why don’t you go change into your dress?”

Chloe gets up and heads to her room. She opens her closet and takes out the flowy blue sundress Stacie had helper her pick out. It’s cute, definitely something Chloe would wear normally. Too bad it’s a pregnancy dress and will be of zero use to her after her baby is born. She slips out of her baggy sweatpants and lifts her tank top carefully over her curled hair. Chloe can’t help but stop and stare in the mirror at herself. She marvels at how her body has changed in the last few months. It will forever amaze her what the body undergoes during pregnancy. Her boobs have grown massively, her hips widened slightly and of course her stomach balloons out in front of her almost comically. Stacie had joked that she wishes she could go up an entire cup size without implants. Chloe had sarcastically snapped back at her about needing to get pregnant then. She drops her hands to her stomach, cradling it gently.

“Well, it’s graduation day baby,” she whispers down at her stomach, “you think mommy will be a good vet?”

Chloe loves talking to the baby. When she did homework, she read her textbook aloud so the baby could hear too. She started to feel weird about reading that type of stuff to a baby though, so she had pulled out some of her literature books from back in the day at Barden. The baby always seems to enjoy it, she knows it’s more about just hearing her voice, but she’d like to believe it’s the act of the story reading. Maybe she should go and buy some kids books to read it.

Chloe realizes she’s been standing in front of the mirror talking for quite a while, so she slips the sundress over her head. She thinks she looks alright. It doesn’t really matter; she’s going to be a big blue bowling ball anyways.

Chloe makes it across the stage without peeing her pants and damn does it feel good to have done it. The second the diploma is in her hands; she hears loud cheers and screams from her friends and family. She feels such a sense of accomplishment and she’s so excited to finally be doing what she loves. Afterwards she weaves her way through the crowd for a familiar face. The first she finds is Amy of all people.

“Ginger!” she screams, pulling Chloe into a hug, “How does it feel to be done?”

“It feels really good,” she beams at the crazy Australian.

Trailing Amy closely are CR, Emily, Flo, Aubrey and Stacie. They all greet Chloe happily, showering her with congratulations. Jessica, Ashely and Lily couldn’t make it out to LA for today, but they’ll be at her baby shower tomorrow. Her family quickly finds her as well, her mother has tears in her eyes, of course. Maybe the fact that Chloe cries so much is an inherited trait. With all her family and friends surrounding her, she should feel so loved and happy, but she can’t help feel sad that her two favorite people aren’t here. Chicago and Beca would have truly made her even happier.

*********************************************************************

Chloe sits in the living room, surrounded by a mountain of unwrapped baby gifts. Everything she ever could have needed is now sitting all around her, diapers, clothes, blankets, bottles, all of it. Her parents got her a crib and a stroller. Aubrey and Stacie had sprung for a car seat and highchair. She feels like she could cry, she had no clue how she was going to have gotten all this. She wasn’t able to work a job during her last semester because of how demanding it was. Chloe was running on fumes for money and was really worried about buying everything she needed. She has a sneaking suspicion that that is the reason Aubrey had pushed so hard to throw her a baby shower.

The baby shower had been way more fun that Chloe had thought. Aubrey, always the planner, had come up with some hilarious games. They had all attempted a “blind folded change the diaper challenge”. Chloe had died of laughter watching all the bellas attempt the challenge. She had finished pretty quickly, so she was able to see everyone else’s failed attempts. Lily had won. She had the diaper on her fake baby in a matter of moments, the blind fold not an obstacle to her. This surprised no one, with how stealthy she’s always been. Fat Amy was the biggest failure, her baby’s diaper somehow ended up on the head. Chloe made a mental note to never leave her baby alone with Amy. Everyone had thoroughly enjoyed guessing how big Chloe’s stomach was as well. They all had to cut a piece of string that they thought would fit around her belly, without measuring. The closest wins. Emily had won that one. Cynthia Rose was the biggest loser, only because she attempted to be funny and just handed Chloe the whole roll of string. Chloe fought the urge to smack her. They had all made bets on whether it was going to be a boy or a girl. It had been almost a complete tie. No one will find out the winner of that game until Chloe gives birth. To no one’s surprise, her family and all the bellas had ate, drank and visited late into the night.

Now sitting here surrounded by all her beautiful gifts, Chloe feels happier than she has in quite a while. She really wants to move all the furniture up to the small office Stacie had cleaned out for the baby, and just start setting up. Maybe nesting isn’t some made up concept after all.

She hears someone walk into the room and her head pops up from the baby blanket she was holding, “Hey Aubrey.”

She’s holding a big box, wrapped in light yellow paper, “I forgot to give you this earlier.”

Chloe takes the large yellow box eagerly, the weight of it surprises her. What did she put in here? Bricks? Aubrey watches her closely as she rips the paper off and pops the flaps open. Inside are roughly 20 children’s books, of all type. Chloe’s jaw drops at the thoughtful gift. Right on top is Chloe’s favorite children’s book ever, _Corduroy_. She had begged her mom and dad to read her the book about everyone’s favorite green overall wearing bear so many times, that they eventually hid the book for a good few days. She can hardly wait to read it to the baby.

“Bree, this is wonderful…” she thanks the blonde, sifting through all the classic titles and some she’s never heard of.

“I’m really glad you like it,” she sits down on the sofa next to Chloe, “I’ve heard you reading to the baby. I thought that it might like to hear something, that isn’t Romeo and Juliet or Anna Karenina.”

“I absolutely love it,” Chloe picks up another favorite, _Where the Wild Things Are,_ and hands it to her best friend, “You want to read the baby the first story?”

Aubrey takes the book and opens it to the first page, “I would be honored.”

Her best friend places a hand on Chloe’s still growing stomach and starts to read, “The night Max wore his wolf suit…”

*********************************************************************

Chloe groans loudly, her lower back has been killing her all morning.

Stacie gives her a strange glance from across the living room, “You ok over there buddy?”

“I suppose,” Chloe huffs, trying to get comfortable on the sofa, “it’s called being 2 weeks away from your due date and feeling like a beached whale.”

“Ugh, honestly girl. Watching your struggle through all of this has me never ever wanting to be pregnant,” Stacie tries to sympathize, “if Aubrey or I ever start talking about kids, tell us to adopt.”

“Duly noted Stace,” Chloe replies, leaning against the back of the couch and closing her eyes.

Just as Chloe is finally feeling relaxed, a sharp pain jolts her back to consciousness. Her hand flies to her belly. She closes her eyes again, it’s probably just a fluke, she’s read about the random pains that can happen when you are getting close to your due date. After about five minutes a sharper, deeper pain rockets through her. Ok maybe this isn’t nothing, but it can’t be because she still has two weeks left. It has to be random, maybe if she gets up and walks around it’ll go away. She heaves herself off the sofa with much difficulty and starts walking away.

“Hey, you just got yourself comfy, what are you doing?” Stacie quirks her eyebrow curiously.

Chloe turns around and calmly tells Stacie so she wont’s freak out, “I had a couple pretty sharp pains and I thought maybe getting up would help.”

Stacie’s eyes bulge, not comforted by her words at all, “Are you IN LABOR?”

Chloe shakes her head, “No, no I can’t be. It was just a couple painful little flukes.”

Her words seem to jinx her, and she practically doubles over, at the next wave of pain. Suddenly, Stacie is standing right in front of her, holding her up.

“Ok you sure these are flukes?” She looks into Chloe’s eyes worriedly, “cause it looks to me like you’re having contractions. How many minutes apart were they?”

Chloe looks at her, confused at her sudden knowledge, “Has someone been doing their reading or something?”

“Maybe. I wanted to be able to help you if I had to,” she says hurriedly, “ok back to my question, time Chloe! Time! How far apart?”

She shrugs, “I don’t know, like 5 minutes?”

“5 minutes!?” Stacie practically shrieks, “have you been having these all day?”

“I don’t know…maybe,” Chloe didn’t think she did, but her back has hurt all day, and now that she thinks about it, “ok yea I think I have, but they weren’t that bad.”

“Oh my god, Chloe,” Stacie looks panicked.

Another five minutes must have passed, because Chloe yelps as a particularly strong contraction rocks her. She grips onto Stacie’s shoulders for support.

“Shit, why does Aubrey have to be at work,” Stacie gripes, “she’s better at this stuff!”

Stacie walks them back over to the couch and sets the pained red head back down, “I’m going to call the hospital.”

Chloe just nods, watching her panicky friend scramble to dial the hospital’s phone number. Chloe laughs, realizing that Stacie is seriously acting like the freaked out parent you see in movies.

“What are you laughing at? This is no time to laugh?” Stacie turns around to half scream at her.

“It’s just, you’re kind of acting like the stereotypical spazzed out parent right now,” she laughs again, unable to stop the deep belly rolling laughter from spilling from her mouth.

“At least you can see the humor in something,” Stacie grumbles and holds the phone back up to her ear, apparently, now talking to some receptionist at the hospital.

Karma kicks in for Chloe laughing at her because another strong contraction stops her dead in her tracks. She groans loudly, rolling into the sofa.

“Yea you hear that? That was her,” Stacie barks into the phone, “can we please just come in?”

Stacie ends the call and seems to be sending some frantic texts, probably to Aubrey. She walks back over to the sofa by Chloe and sits down.

“Are we doing this?” Chloe asks, her face still planted into the couch cushions.

“Oh, you know it!” Stacie says in a mix of panic and excitement, “do you have a bag packed for the hospital?”

Chloe nods, “It’s next to the door, in my bedroom.”

Stacie bounds up the steps without another word and is back with Chloe’s bag in record time. She runs out the front door, presumably to put the bag in her car. Stacie is back in front of Chloe before she even has time to process.

“Do you need help up?” Stacie extends her arms to her.

Chloe shakes her head, “I’ll be ok, but can you grab my phone off the coffee table?”

Stacie nods and slips the phone into the pocket of her own jeans, “You sure you don’t need help?”

Chloe is about to tell her no, but another contraction hits and Stacie quickly grabs her, letting the red head fall forward onto her. They stand like that until Chloe is breathing normally and then Stacie helps her straighten up so they can walk out to the car. Thank god, they make it all the way out to the car and Stacie gets Chloe safely in the front seat. Chloe can tell they are speeding as Stacie starts driving towards the hospital. She tries to ignore and just hopes the brunette doesn’t get them killed.

“Stace, can I have my phone?” Chloe asks, “also can you maybe slow down, so we don’t die?”

Stacie slips the phone from her back pocket and hands it to her, “Hey I’m a good driver we’ll be fine.”

Chloe just rolls her eyes and unlocks her phone. Her eyes fall to a message from Aubrey, reassuring her that she’ll get to the hospital as soon as she possibly can. She puts her phone back in her own pocket and breaths hard through another contraction. She feels Stacie’s worried eyes on her.

“I’m ok, eyes on the road Stacie, remember no killing us?” she snaps at her friend.

They finally make it to the hospital and after a surprisingly long wait, they make it up into one of the birthing suites. Chloe quickly gets changes into a hospital gown and then there is flurry of activity as nurses come in and check all her vitals and ask her about fifty questions. Just when she thinks she can relax her doctor walks in.

“How’s it going Chloe?” she greets her happily, “looks like this little one wanted to come meet everyone a bit early?”

Chloe nods, “Yea unfortunately.”

“Ok well let’s see how far along we are here,” the doctor leans down at the end of the bed to check where Chloe is at, “alright, looks like we’re about 5 centimeters dilated. Which means you are definitely in labor. It also means you can still have an epidural if you want one.”

Chloe nods her head yes, “Give me all the drugs, this sucks.”

Stacie laughs from her spot in on of the recliners in the corner, “That a girl!”

The doctor also laughs at Chloe’s comment, “We can make that happen, I’ll send someone in really soon to take care of that.”

The doctor leaves and true to her word, about five minutes later, someone comes in and gives Chloe an epidural. Once it really kicks in, she notices the difference. She has another contraction and this time can barely feel the pain associated with it. Chloe feels like she can relax again for a moment, but she probably should have just chosen the pain. Her mind starts to wander and suddenly everything about being in a hospital seems all too familiar. Horrible memories of the last time she was in a hospital room start flooding her senses. She gasps, remembering walking into the hospital room on shaky legs, to find her husband on the brink of death. He hadn’t been able to talk, a tube down his throat. There was evidence of damage all over him. Chloe had never felt more helpless. The doctors had come in and told her he was basically gone, brain dead they had said. They just needed her consent to pull the plug. Chloe said they should wait for his parents to come say goodbye. He would have wanted that. She had to spend 4 hours in that room next to his body, being kept alive by machines, waiting for them. Aubrey had come to be with her, she had urged her to leave the room. Chloe wouldn’t budge, her feet stuck to the ground. She waited until his parents showed up, and finally was able to let herself walk out as they said goodbye. She couldn’t stomach it; she had almost thrown up from utter grief and horror a few times. After they said goodbye, Chloe had one more moment with her husband. Then the doctor came in, and it was over in a matter of minutes. That’s when she really broke. That’s the last emotion she remembers feeling in a hospital. The memory is too strong to be overcome.

“Chloe! Chloe!” she’s finally snapped back into reality, Stacie is shaking her, yelling her name.

Chloe locks eyes with her and Stacie sighs relieved.

“You are shaking and crying,” Stacie whispers, “what’s wrong?”

She swallows, “the last time I was in a hospital was when Chicago died. That’s all I can see right now, it’s all I can feel.”

Stacie quickly pulls her into her arms, “it’s ok Chloe, I’m so sorry.”

“Oh my god, what happened?” Chloe hears her best friends voice.

She looks up and sure enough, Aubrey has just arrived. Stacie lets go of Chloe to make room for her girlfriend. Aubrey flies over to Chloe and perches on the edge of the bed next to her.

“I keep thinking of that night Aubrey,” Chloe chokes out, still crying, knowing that Aubrey will know exactly what she is talking about.

She grabs Chloe’s hand into her own, “take a deep breath. This isn’t that night. You are here to have your baby. And not just your baby, Chicago’s baby. He wouldn’t want you here crying over him right now. He’d want you to be happy when you have this baby.”

Chloe nods weakly, knowing she’s exactly right, “I know. I’ll be ok, it’s ok.”

“You’re right, you’re going to be ok. Let’s make a happy memory here,” Aubrey smiles brightly at her.

It takes about three more hours before Chloe is finally pushing. Aubrey is on one side of her and Stacie the other, each of them holding a hand. Chloe’s been pushing for about ten minutes and she seriously doesn’t think she can do it much longer; she’s grasped onto her friend’s hands so tightly she’s positive they’re severed off by now.

“I can’t do it,” Chloe pants, “I just want it over…”

“Come on Chloe, head’s almost out you can do it!” she hears the doctor call out from the foot of the bed.

“Ughhhhh,” Chloe groans, she seriously cannot go any further, she wants to cry.

She feels Aubrey grasp her hand tighter, and she barks in her bossy sergeant voice, “The Chloe Beale I know doesn’t give up!”

“Are you sure she doesn’t?” Chloe snaps through gritted teeth.

“No, she doesn’t. Come on Chloe push!” her best friend reverts to leader of the bellas Aubrey knowing it will spur on the red head.

Sure enough it works. Aubrey keeps yelling commands and encouragements as Chloe pushes harder than before. Before they know it the loud cry of a newborn rings through the room and Chloe slouches down breathing a deep sigh of relief.

“You did it Chlo,” Stacie hugs her lightly from the side.

All Chloe can do is weakly nod, as she watches the doctor and nurses look over her baby.

“It’s a boy!” the doctor announces excitedly, before carrying the baby over to Chloe.

“Oh a boy!” Aubrey squeals excitedly.

Chloe just wants to hold her baby, more than anything in life. The moment she caught a glimpse of his tiny head, her heart swelled with love. The doctor sets the baby down on her chest after what feels like an eternity. Chloe looks down at the face of her baby and can’t stop the happy tears that roll down her face. This is her baby, her precious beautiful baby. It’s so tiny, she can barely believe it. Chloe wraps her arms around the baby carefully, but protectively.

“I love you so much,” Chloe whispers, “and I promise I will never let anything bad happen to you.”

“He is so precious,” Aubrey coos next to her, eyes glued to the baby.

“He is pretty damn cute,” Stacie agrees, “any idea for a name yet?”

Chloe doesn’t even have to hesitate, the name already in the back of her head, “Christopher Chicago Beale.”

Chloe locks eyes with her baby, bright blue eyes meeting her own and in that moment, she knows she’ll never love anything or anyone more than him.


	9. Chapter 9

Chloe can’t help the next question that leaves her, it escapes without warning, charging the air with a completely different type of tension, “Do you still love me?”

Beca looks at her with an intensity she’s never seen from the brunette before, “Yes.”

Chloe is no longer control of her movements; she moves on instinct. She rolls her chair towards Beca, spinning her so she’s facing her. Chloe leans into her space and presses their lips together for the first time. Beca gasps, her lips unmoving against Choe’s for a moment. Chloe is just about to pull away, when suddenly Beca surges to life. She finally kisses Chloe back, her hands moving to intertwine in the Chloe’s red locks. The feeling of Beca’s soft lips finally on hers is far better than she’s imagined it. Beca kisses her back with such passion and Chloe tries to match it as best she can, her heart is pounding out of her chest and her hands tremble as she moves them up to rest on Beca’s shoulders. Chloe feels like her lungs are on fire, she has to pull away, but she doesn’t ever want to. She never wants to leave Beca’s arms, her lips attached to hers forever. Beca finally is the one to break the kiss, but she rests her forehead against Chloe’s. She’s breathing heavy but has the world’s biggest smile on her face. Chloe’s sure she looks similar, except for the now joyful tears rolling down her cheeks. She’s cried so much in these past 10 minutes. 20 minutes? She has no clue how long they’ve been alone in this room together anymore.

“I love you so much Chloe Beale,” Beca whisper against her lips before placing another gentler kiss on her mouth.

Chloe’s heart soars again at her words, and she starts to cry harder. She feels Beca’s thumbs on her cheeks, wiping away the moisture.

“Please tell me those are good tears?” Beca asks, voice trembling with doubt.

Chloe nods vigorously, “Yes. I love you. I love you so damn much.”

“Oh thank god,” Beca laughs in relief, “you really had me scared there for a second.”

“I’m sorry,” Chloe whispers before closing the distance between them once again.

There’s a new heat to the kiss that wasn’t there before. Years of hidden desire quickly seep into their movements. Chloe stands from her chair, separating theirs lips momentarily, before seating herself right in Beca’s lap. She wraps her arms around Beca’s neck and leans down to resume their kiss.

“You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined this moment right here,” Beca smiles before leaning up to meet Chloe’s waiting lips.

The fire from before was not lost in the transitional moment. Beca’s tongue quickly begs entrance into Chloe’s mouth and she eagerly grants access. The second their tongues meet, a strike of lightening goes straight through Chloe, landing in directly in her core. It pulls a quiet moan from the back of her throat. Chloe’s hands leave Beca’s neck, to instead thread through her long hair she had curled so nicely for today.

“Oh my god! Sorry!” the voice of Beca’s assistant Hazel rings through the small space, effectively snapping Chloe and Beca from their moment, “I’ll just leave.”

“Wait!” Beca calls before she can leave, Chloe quickly slips off Beca’s lap onto shaky legs, “You can stay, it’s ok.”

Chloe sits back down on the chair next to Beca, wishing Beca had just let her go.

“I’m sorry guys, really,” Hazel says, feeling safer to venture back into the room.

“It’s ok, we shouldn’t have let that go as far as it did,” Chloe can tell Beca is trying to act professional, even though her cheeks are red and breathing still heavy, “I knew people would start coming back soon.”

There’s an awkward tension in the room between the three of them. Chloe can see questions forming in Hazel’s mind, she looks like she’s going to burst if she can’t ask Beca.

“Is this a new development?” she finally manages to ask, waggling her finger between Beca and Chloe.

“Yea, uh it kinda just happened a few minutes ago…” Beca trails off looking over at Chloe with a small smile.

Hazel looks at Chloe now, “Girl, I would have fallen right into her arms after that song too.”

They don’t stay at the studio for much longer. Beca tells everyone that she was perfectly happy with that one take for today and that she needs to get going. Chloe is practically vibrating with excitement when they get back into Beca’s car, needing to feel Beca’s lips on hers again. The second the doors lock and the car has been started, Chloe grabs the brunette’s arm and yanks her across the center of the car, right into a searing kiss.

“Chloe…” Beca mumbles against her lips and pushes at her arms.

Chloe pulls away reluctantly, hoping she didn’t do anything wrong.

“As much as I would love to sit in this car and make out with you, we should probably go back to my house instead?” Beca suggests, “I don’t want someone to see us, not yet. This thing between is only about an hour old.”

“I get it,” Chloe nods embarrassed, “sorry I just feel like I can’t keep my hands off you…”

Beca’s cheeks flush, “I feel the same way…”

Beca moves to face forward and throws the car into reverse. As they drive back to Beca’s, Chloe thinks about how the day had started and where they are now. She had no clue when she woke up this morning that by noon, she would be kissing Beca and professing her love to her. It seems like forever before they are pulling into Beca’s driveway. Beca pulls the car into the garage and the two hastily make their way into the house.

“Ok so as much as I would like to spend the next hour and a half before we pick up the kids making out, I think we should talk,” Beca says, with an almost pained look on her face.

Chloe bites her lip and gives Beca the best pouty face she can, “Ok but how about kissing for like a few minutes, then we can talk.”

Beca strides over to Chloe and wraps her arms tightly around her, “I think that I can manage a few minutes.”

The two quickly find themselves on the sofa in Beca’s living room, Chloe straddling Beca’s lap. Their lips barely leaving each other’s, unless Beca is peppering kisses along her jaw or down her neck and vice versa. The kiss is just as hot and needy as it was back in the studio, if not more. Years of frustration pouring out of both of them. Beca’s hands slide down the expanse of Chloe’s back and land on her ass, giving it an experimental squeeze. Chloe lets out an almost embarrassing moan as she does it. Beca seems to be unfazed by the noise, or maybe not? Because she takes a firmer hold on her backside, pulling Choe into her. The move makes heat pool low in her stomach and between her legs.

“Beca...” Chloe breathes into her ear as she feels a hand move up her chest, landing on her right breast. The feeling of Beca’s hand there, grasping at her gently, makes her arousal spike and it almost pains her to say the next two words, “Beca…stop.”

Beca immediately stops, dropping her hands and pulling away to look at Chloe, “I’m sorry Chloe, I just got carried away…”

“No Beca, you’re fine,” Chloe shakes her head, “I need to stop…I just need to stop, or I won’t be able to.”

“Oh,” it quickly registers with Beca, “yea I suppose I’m with you there. I guess we should wait for that until we have more time.”

“That…and I kind of have to confess something,” Chloe knows she shouldn’t feel embarrassed, but she does, “it’s been so long since I’ve had sex with anyone and also you’re kind of the first girl I’ve ever even kissed and...”

Beca just smiles at her sweetly, “Chlo, you don’t have to be embarrassed about that. I’m sorry if things heated up too quickly for you, we can take it as slow as you want. But don’t take this the wrong way, I’m actually kind of surprised, am I really the first girl you’ve ever made out with?”

“Yea kind of. I’ve always been attracted to girls. I was just always with guys and then I met you,” Chloe takes a pause before continuing, “you were the first girl I was really interested in. I’ve kissed other girls for stupid dares and games, but never for real, it never meant anything. I’ve never really been with a woman.”

“Well I guess I should feel special,” Beca beams as Chloe’s words.

“You should,” Chloe places a quick kiss on Beca’s lips, which turns into another deeper kiss.

When they finally manage to pull away again Chloe brings up another thing that’s been on her mind, “I think we should actually talk about what we’re doing here.”

“You’re right,” Beca smirks, “kind of hard to focus with you in my lap though.”

“Oh right,” Chloe giggles, sliding off Beca’s lap and onto the sofa next to her.

“So, I think that I would really like to give us a real shot,” Beca says truthfully.

Chloe nods, “Me too. I don’t want to rush things too much though. I want to get this right.”

“I agree, plus we have the kids to think about too,” Beca adds, “I want them to be comfortable with this when we choose to tell them, so we have to really ease them into the idea of us.”

“Absolutely,” Chloe agrees with Beca completely and loves that she is thinking about their kids already and is taking this brand new thing between them so seriously.

“So…” Beca scoots closer to her, “I have an important question for you…”

“Yes?” Chloe asks curiously.

“About that date I talked about before,” Beca smiles sheepishly, “would you let me take you out tomorrow night? If you’re free?”

“Yes, of course Becs,” Chloe answers quickly but forgetting about one important detail, “shit, actually I have to see if Aubrey or Stacie can watch Christopher though.”

“Oh, yea that’s right, I kind of forgot because Jesse picks up Amelia tomorrow night for his week. If you can’t that’s ok. I just didn’t even think...” Beca keeps rambling.

Chloe rests her hand on Beca’s shoulder to stop her, “Becs, it’s ok. I just texted Aubrey and asked her.”

She feels her phone buzz in her lap almost instantly. She looks down at the message from Aubrey, she’d love to watch her son tomorrow night.

“Was that her?” Beca asks anxiously.

“We’re good to go,” Chloe smiles.

“Awes.” Beca states simply, making butterflies erupt in Chloe’s stomach.

“Yea, awes.”

Instead of taking Chloe out to dinner, Beca had offered to cook for the red head. Chloe had eagerly agreed, excited to see if Beca’s culinary skills had developed past what she’s remembered. Chloe knows why she wanted them to stay in instead. Beca didn’t want anything to ruin this for them, including the very real possibility of the paparazzi finding her. Chloe doesn’t mind at all. She thinks it will be far more romantic to have the woman she loves make a dinner for her in her home.

Chloe goes through her closet trying to decide on an outfit for their dinner date. She’s not sure how she should dress. She runs her fingers over the soft fabric of one of her favorite dresses, she’d love to wear that. Is it too fancy though? Maybe she should just opt for her nicest pair of jeans and a nice top. That doesn’t sound nice enough though, she wants this to be special. Oh fuck it, she thinks as she grabs the black dress from its hanger. Beca won’t care what Chloe’s wearing, and the thought of Beca’s eyes glued to her curves in this dress sounds much more appealing than the other option. Chloe walks over to her dresser and opens it up to grab a pair of underwear. She sifts through her options carefully, deciding which ones are her best. She knows they talked about taking things really slow, but if the opportunity arises for sex with Beca tonight, Chloe’s almost positive she’ll give in. So, she settles on a light blue, lacy pair of panties and decides to skip a bra, the dress is designed to not wear one.

Chloe finally walks down the stairs, completely ready an hour later. She had lightly curled her hair and had spent quite a while on her makeup. Her black dress is form fitting, falling just above her knee, the real show stopping part is the plunging V-neck line, that shows off ample cleavage.

“Holy shi—tacki mushrooms,” Stacie manages to change the course of her wording, realizing Christopher is a foot away playing nicely with his blocks, “you are going to give Beca a heart attack.”

Chloe spins around as she walks into the living room, and throws a wink Stacie’s way, “You think?”

She nods animatedly, “Beca’s lucky I’m married, cause I’d hit it.”

Aubrey shows up seemingly out of the shadows, walks over to the sofa and grabs a pillow, swiftly whacking Stacie on the head, “Keep it in your pants Conrad, your wife is here.”

Chloe just giggles, “Don’t worry Aubrey, I’m not interested.”

“You better not be,” Aubrey mutters, plopping down next to her wife on the sofa.

“Anyways,” Stacie rolls her eyes playfully, “don’t worry about anything Chlo, we’ll be here with the kiddo all night and tomorrow morning…if you happen to sleep over.”

Chloe feels a blush rise on her cheeks at the implication behind staying the night, “Thanks guys.”

“Anytime Chlo,” Aubrey smiles supportively, even thought Chloe knows she still has some reservations, “have fun.”

Twenty minutes later, Chloe stands on the doorstep of Beca’s house. The door swings open and the sight on the other side makes her mouth go dry. Beca looks breathtaking, she’s wearing a tight-fitting pair of skinny, black, dress pants. On top she’s got on a matching black blazer, sleeves rolled up, underneath a loose-fitting white tank which is exposing a delicious amount of her chest. Beca’s eyes skim over Chloe as well, the two shamelessly appreciating each other’s choice of clothing for the night.

“You look beautiful Chlo,” Beca says, finally ushering the red head inside.

Chloe walks in and gives Beca a firm kiss, “So do you.”

As soon as she makes her way into the house, she’s hit with a delicious smell of something she can’t quite put her finger on. Beca seems to really have improved in the cooking department. She feels a hand grasp her own, fingers lacing together, and she looks over to see Beca grinning at her.

“I hope you brought your appetite,” Beca starts leading them to her kitchen, “I made lasagna, bread sticks from scratch and salad.”

“It smells delicious Becs,” Chloe smiles appreciatively, sniffing the air, “sounds like it was a lot of work.”

Beca waves the hand not holding Chloe’s dismissively, “It wasn’t that bad.”

Instead of stopping in the kitchen, where Chloe would have assumed they would be, Beca pushes the patio doors open that are adjacent to the kitchen. They head out into her large backyard and the sight before Chloe makes her jaw drop and her heart swell. On the patio table, she has dishes set up, some candles and a vase with a large bouquet of different flowers. There are strings of fairy lights hanging from the edge of the roof, connecting to a few nearby trees. She really went above and beyond.

“Beca…” Chloe stares at the backyard in awe, “this is so amazing, you didn’t have to do all this…”

Beca smiles at her sweetly, “Yea but I wanted to. I was an idiot for so long and we’ve lost so much time…I’m never going to stop showing you how much I love you, how much you mean to me.”

Chloe can’t think of any better way to answer to that, than leaning in and kissing Beca with every ounce of love she can. Beca gasps slightly into the kiss, taken by surprise at Chloe’s quick actions. Chloe doesn’t think she’ll ever be tired of how kissing Beca makes her feel. Warm and tingly, every nerve in her body alive and flowing with electricity. Their lips move gently but lovingly, against each other’s for a few more moments until Chloe pulls away, “You aren’t an idiot by the way.”

“I really am,” Beca laughs, “but I’ll take it.”

They slowly walk their way over to the table and sit down. Beca opens up the bottle of wine sitting in a bucket of ice and pours them both a healthy sized glass, then gets up from the table abruptly, “I almost forgot something, I’ll be right back.”

Chloe just quirks an eyebrow curiously, letting Beca walk away from the table. She takes a sip of her wine and checks her phone, soon Beca is walking back with her hands behind her back. She walks right up to Chloe and hands her a bouquet of red and white roses.

“The ones on the table are just for decoration, these are for you…” Chloe can tell Beca’s blushing even in the dim light, as she places the bunch of flowers in her hand.

Chloe is positive that no one has ever gone to such lengths to make her feel so loved. Beca has clearly put so much thought and effort into this night and it makes Chloe’s throat thick with emotion and her eyes well with tears, “Thank you Becs, I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” she replies genuinely.

Chloe sets the flowers on the table and stands up to pull Beca into her embrace. Beca’s phone goes off as soon as she’s in Chloe’s arms.

“Oh!” she pulls away and grabs it, “that’s the timer for the lasagna, I better go get it!”

Chloe laughs, “Yea I don’t want burnt food, go!”

A few minutes later, Beca walks out with a tray of delicious looking lasagna, “alright, time to see how I did.”

“Looks really good Becs,” Chloe assures her as she sets it down between them.

Beca turns around as soon as she sets it down, “I’ll just go grab the bread and salad.”

Soon both women are sat in front of empty plates, stomachs full and completely content. Everything had been delicious, and they had enjoyable, light conversation throughout. Chloe has been thinking throughout dinner, that she is going to have to do something really special for Beca soon. Chloe wants Beca to feel as loved as she does right now. The two are sitting in silence, happy to just be in each other’s presence. She thinks Beca looks breathtaking in the dim lighting, her hair falling in light curls around her face, her steel grey eyes sparkling right back at Chloe. She is still thinking about how just yesterday morning, she and Beca were merely “friends”. Even though she’s positive that there was never a day she’s known Beca where they were just friends. That one song, that one confession yesterday afternoon has completely turned her world on it’s axis.

“I’m so glad we found each other again,” Beca says dreamily, breaking the silence.

Chloe agrees, nodding, “This is really cheesy…but I think we’ve always been destined to be together. It was just a matter of time and fate taking its course.”

“I don’t think that’s cheesy,” Beca shakes her head, “I think that’s a beautiful way to think about it.”

They fall back into comfortable silence, thinking about Chloe’s words. After a few minutes, Beca pushes her chair away and gets up to over to Chloe.

“I have another surprise for you,” she offers the red head her hand.

Chloe grabs her hand without question and Beca leads them out further into her yard, past her pool into the grass. Sitting on the lawn is a thick blanket and three or four pillows, a small lantern sitting next to the blanket.

“I remembered how we used to always crawl up on the roof of the Bella house together and stargaze. Those were some of my favorite memories with you, we’d just sit and talk about everything and nothing…” Beca runs her hand through her hair anxiously, “I thought it would be nice to replicate that tonight…”

Chloe feels herself absolutely melt at Beca’s words and actions for the second time that night. She turns to face her and grabs her hands, “Beca this is the best date I’ve ever had. I’ve never had someone be so thoughtful and sweet. This is perfect.”

“I’m really glad you like it, I was worried it was going to be kind of lame,” Beca admits.

“It is far from lame,” Chloe leans in and gives Beca a quick kiss, before taking her hand and leading her to the blanket.

The two lay down on their backs, using the ample amount of pillows Beca had brought outside to make themselves comfy. As soon as Beca has herself completely settled, Chloe slides over and curls into Beca’s side, wrapping an arm around the smaller woman’s midsection, her other hand resting on the pillow above their heads. She places a small kiss on the brunette’s cheek.

“Wow I don’t remember the cuddling and kissing, when we used to do this back at Barden,” Beca jokes, “this is much better.”

“I’d like to think we made an upgrade,” Chloe giggles.

The two direct their eyes upward, and thankfully the dark night sky is full of little stars. It’s beautiful. Chloe stares up, trying to pick out some constellations, she used to be able to.

“Aren’t they pretty Becs?” she asks, still looking at the glittering display.

Little does Chloe know that Beca isn’t looking at the sky, but at her, “So, so pretty,” she smiles looking at the red head that is finally right where she should be.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another flashback, this time it's Beca's turn to meet her baby!

_*6 years ago*_

Beca props her hands on her hips, staring at all her hard work. As soon as she had woken up this morning, the nesting bug got her. The blank canvas of an office space has been sitting vacant in their apartment for weeks. She and Jesse had worked hard to clean it out, so that they could use it for a nursery. Since that day though, neither of them made a move to touch it. Except for the slowly accumulating pile of boxes and bags, that lately has been receiving a new addition every time Beca leaves the house. Today was the day though. Beca woke up to an empty bed, Jesse had already left for work and she had no other commitments for the day. So, after a quick breakfast, she grabbed a set of tools and went to work. She’s managed to set up the crib, hang some pictures and decorations on the wall and fill the changing table and dresser full of diapers and clothes.

“We did good little girl,” Beca places a hand on her ever-growing stomach.

Jesse will kill her when he sees she put together the entire crib by herself. She rolls her eyes, she’s only 6 months pregnant. This is good for her. She should be moving around and doing things. Plus, she’s just going to get bigger, making everything harder. It’s easier to do it now. Her stomach rumbles loudly, making her wonder what time it is. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she realizes it’s 2:30. No wonder Beca is hungry. She’s been at it for about 5 hours. She deserves a treat. Instead of making something, she dials the number for the pizza place.

While she waits for her pizza, she takes a seat in the living room, absentmindedly scrolling through social media. Beca almost scrolls past it, but she sees an image that makes her heart stop. Emily posted it, it’s a picture of all the Bellas, including Chloe. The caption says, _Graduation and baby shower weekend! What a fun time with my Bella family! Congrats Chloe!_ Beca inspects the picture closer. It looks like it’s in a backyard, pale yellow, pink, blue and green balloons are all around them. Chloe is in the center, holding a cake with a very poorly frosted baby on top. The picture makes her happy for Chloe, but oh so very sad for herself. What Beca wouldn’t give to have been there with all of them. She hates this weird divide her and Chloe have brought to the group. It’s just an unspoken rule, that if Chloe is there Beca isn’t and vice versa. It really leaves all the Bella’s in an awkward situation. Which, Beca has noticed more recently, that neither her nor Chloe are getting invited to Bella things. She doesn’t blame them; they don’t have to choose between the two of them that way. No one gets hurt. She wonders how Chloe feels about it. Beyond that issue, Beca just wishes that she could have been there for Chloe. She graduated…Beca didn’t even know Chloe was that far along in her program.

The sound of the doorbell pulls her out of her reverie. She hops up off the sofa to go get her pizza, maybe drowning herself in carbs will make her feel better. After 80% of the pizza is gone and Beca is sufficiently full, she still finds herself thinking about Chloe’s baby shower. Maybe she should message Amy and poke around for more information.

_B: Sup Ames_

_A: Shortstack! wats up?_

_B: Saw Chloe had her baby shower last weekend, how was it?_

_A: Aw yea, it was good. Aubrey throws a surprisingly good party_

_A: Wish you could have been there_

_B: Me too_

_B: I’m glad it was fun, how is Chloe doing? Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?_

_A: Ya know…you could just talk to Chloe about it_

_B: You know I can’t_

_A: What’s holding you back? You really should make things right with her_

_B: You know what happened and why I can’t_

_A: You know she doesn’t hate you_

_B: Not so sure about that_

_A: Yea whatever_

_A: Chloe is doing great. She’s waiting until the birth to find out_

Beca sighs, throwing her phone down to the other end of the sofa. The whole Chloe thing is something that has been weighing on Beca heavier than it has in a long time. She just feels like she’s missing out on so much with her. She also knows that she’s royally fucked things up and calling Chloe randomly out of the blue just isn’t an option. The last voicemail Chloe ever left Beca, after months of the red head trying to call and text, still haunts her.

_“Beca, I don’t know if you’ll actually listen to this. You probably won’t. I don’t know what I did or what happened, but I’m done trying.”_

The voice mail is saved somewhere on her computer, Beca has no clue why she kept it. All it is, is a painful reminder of what has happened. God, what she would give to go back in time and just be happy for Chloe. Say yes to being her bridesmaid. Show up to the wedding. Bite her lip and hold back her tears, until she could go home and cry till there was nothing left. If she had just been there, at least Chloe would still be a part of her life.

Beca is still wallowing when Jesse comes home, sprawled out on the sofa _, Friends_ on a loop and her hand down a bag of cheese puffs. He eyes her suspiciously, already on to the fact that she isn’t in a great mood.

“Bad day?” he asks carefully.

Beca shakes her head no, she doesn’t ever let him know when she’s feeling this way about Chloe. When they got back together, Beca was fragile. She had baggage, and Jesse had listened. He knows why she and Chloe don’t talk anymore. He knows how Beca felt about her best friend, to an extent. He had listened and picked up the pieces and put her back together. Most importantly of all, he loved her. He loved her until she was ready to love him back. If he knew what was bothering her, he would understand. Part of Beca worries about what he would think. Would he be worried about Beca loving Chloe? That in itself is a whole different topic, one that Beca herself has tucked away in a box, locked in the confines of her head.

“Are you sure?” Jesse questions again, his eyes on the empty pizza box and Beca’s cheese dust coated fingers, “you don’t really go crazy on the junk food like this unless there’s something wrong.”

“You know, I am feeling a little down. I’m sure it’s just the pregnancy hormones, mood swings are a thing,” she easily finds a way to brush off her bad attitude, thank god for the book of excuses at her disposal due to her current status. 

He seems a little relieved at her answer, and directs the conversation away, hoping to lift her spirits, “Did you do anything fun today?”

That brings a smile to Beca’s face, remembering all her hard work in the office turned nursery this morning, “Well I got some stuff done in the baby’s room.”

“That’s good!” he beams at her, “let’s go see what you did.”

Beca gets off the sofa and follows Jesse into the nursery. His eyes practically bulge out of their sockets when he sees what she’s done.

“You put together the crib,” he says in disbelief, “wow good job.”

She smiles, surprised he didn’t yell at her for doing it solo, “It really wasn’t that hard, the directions were pretty straightforward. I hung up some decorations and put away all the clothes and diapers we have too.”

Jesse pulls her in a hug, “That’s awesome,” Jesse quickly pulls out of the hug and turns to leave the room, “I got the rutabaga something today!”

Beca rolls her eyes, Jesse had not given up on the baby fruit/vegetable size thing. Yesterday, he had informed her their baby was the size of a rutabaga. Last week she was the size of an ear of corn. Jesse races back into the room with a small bag from the shoe store in the mall.

He whips the box out of the bag and opens it up, “I got the baby her first pair of converse.”

“Aww Jes, I love them,” Beca is truly excited about the little pair of sneakers, both her and Jesse being fans of the shoe brand.

“I just found out today that they make baby sized ones,” Jesse says excitedly, “I went and got them right after work.”

Without even really trying, Jesse has managed to make her bad mood completely vanish. Beca forgets sometimes how blessed she is to have this idiot, “You’re the best.”

“Well I don’t like to brag,” he says sarcastically, “but yea I am.”

*********************************************************************

Beca hadn’t really wanted a baby shower. She didn’t plan on having one.

Now here she is, blowing up pink and purple balloons, handing them to Jesse as he hangs them all over their living space. Jesse had spearheaded most of the planning for a baby shower. He wanted Beca to have the experience, even thought your husband isn’t usually the person to plan and throw one. He was pleasantly surprised when Beca had finally agreed to it. Truth is, she hasn’t been able to get her mind off having one, after seeing that picture from Chloe’s a month ago. She would love to have all her Bellas around her, celebrating her baby’s impending arrival.

“Jes, this is a lot of balloons. You sure we need more?” Beca asks, completely out of breath from blowing. She has no clue why they hadn’t gone with all helium balloons.

He steps down from the step stool and takes a look around the room, “Yea I guess that’s enough, I have to go pick up the cake anyways.”

“Thank god,” Beca breaths a sigh of relief, throwing the pack of pink balloons down on the table.

Jesse’s been running around like a crazy person to make sure they are all ready for the party tomorrow. They pretty much have everything ready, except for the cake and some of the food. Amy is flying into town tonight as well, and she’s staying with her and Jesse. So, at some point they’re going to go get her from the airport.

“Ok, so I guess I’m going to go and get the cake,” Jesse is still standing in the middle of the room, hands on his hips, in some state of confusion? Exhaustion?

Beca nods, “Ok sounds good. I might have to run to the airport for Fat Amy, her flight is running early.”

“Do you just want me to pick her up while I’m out?” Jesse offers.

“That’s fine, I’ve got it,” Beca wants to get out of the house and away from party-zilla for a while anyways. Who knew Jesse was going to be such a perfectionist over this.

Very predictably, the second Jesse leaves, Beca’s phone buzzes, revealing a text from the crazy Australian. Her flight has indeed landed. Beca eagerly gathers her things and heads to her car. The drive to the airport is hectic and it takes her way longer to get there than it should. The second she sees Amy though; it makes it all worth it. It’s been so long since she’s seen her best friend. Ever since she’s come into money, she’s jetting here and there, never really in one spot. She’s a hard lady to track down most of the time.

“Shawshank!!” Amy screams, running up to Beca, engulfing her in a bone crushing hug. She lets go of Beca and looks down at her 7 months pregnant belly, “And baby Shawshank!!!”

“It’s good to see you Ames,” Beca replies happily.

It’s a lot faster to get back to the apartment, thank god. When they make it back though, Jesse is hard at work again. He’s making the pieces for some ridiculous game he made up for the party.

Amy eyes him suspiciously as soon as they walk in, Beca kind of already told her he’s been a nut with this baby shower, “Hey Jesse…did you like re-create all of pinterest in here or something?”

“Nice to see you too Amy,” he says politely, but layered thick with sarcasm.

Beca laughs at his annoyance, he really has gone overboard. They don’t hang around Jesse too long. Beca shows Amy the guest room and then the two find themselves out on her patio in no time. Amy had helped herself to the kitchen and made herself what she calls her post-flight cocktail. Beca had poured herself a glass of lemonade.

“So, I was surprised to see Stacie is coming tomorrow,” Beca mentions casually. It only figured that Beca was going to lose Aubrey and Stacie in the Bella custody battle. She hasn’t seen Aubrey in years, Stacie has only come around once or twice.

Amy agrees quickly, “Yea I was kind of surprised myself. But as I’ve said before, none of them hate you.”

Ok so maybe Stacie doesn’t completely hate her, but jury is still out on Aubrey and Chloe, “I wonder how Aubrey feels about her coming.”

“Oh, I talked to Aubrey about it,” Amy replies casually.

Beca nearly spits her drink out, “What? Why? What did she say?”

“Calm down there short stack, don’t want you stressing out the baby,” Amy puts a hand out, as if it’ll calm her, “Aubrey’s fine with it, Chloe’s fine with it. They know she’s still your friend.”

Beca doesn’t quite believe her answer. She’s sure that Aubrey had _something_ to say about it, considering how fiercely loyal she is to Chloe. Beca’s glad that didn’t get in the way of letting her wife come to her shower though.

The baby shower is actually far better than Beca thought it was going to be. She’s absolutely loving having all the Bellas here, it’s been too long. Although, she has had to bite her tongue a few times, to stop from asking Stacie anything about Chloe. All the games Jesse planned were great, she really has to give it to him, he knows what he’s doing in the party planning department. Beca’s favorite thing so far is the giant sheet of paper taped to the wall, where everyone has written a name suggestion. Some of the names are downright ridiculous, but there are a few actual contenders. It was supposed to just be a joke, just for fun. She wasn’t expecting to actually like any of the names. Her favorites so far are, Cameron, Bailey and Amelia. There are some seriously stupid ones too though, like Beca Jr. or Shawshank II. Beca’s almost 100% positive those ones are from Amy.

“Seriously? Who put Shawshank II?” Beca yells laughing, “Amy?”

Fat Amy shakes her head no, a little bit too aggressively to be telling the truth, “Not me, I swear.”

Beca just rolls her eyes, “Sure Ames.”

“Are there any names you like though?” Stacie asks curiously.

“Yea, did you like mine?” Emily asks excitedly, “Are you going to pick one of them for real?”

“I do really like some of them,” Beca says truthfully, “I think my favorite so far is Amelia.”

Emily beams, “That was mine!”

“It was a good one, maybe you’ll be the lucky winner,” Beca actually really likes it that Emily picked that name. Beca has gotten a lot closer to Emily recently. She feels like a little sister to her, Emily gets her. They both love music, Emily has accompanied Beca to the studio a few times, to help or collaborate.

Beca can’t believe how awesome her friends are, she absolutely loves all the gifts they brought her. They’re almost all done opening presents, when Stacie walks over to Beca holding a slim white box with a blue ribbon.

She places it delicately in Beca’s lap, “Aubrey sends her best wishes.”

There’s a tag on the box, with Aubrey’s neat, scrawling writing: To Beca. From Aubrey. Beca eagerly unties the ribbon and whips the lid off the box. Inside is one of the most thoughtful gifts she’s received so far, it’s a Barden Bella blue onesie with white writing on the front, _Bella Baby._ Along with the onesie, is a fluffy white tutu and a blue and white clip bow.

“Well what is it?” Jessica and Ashley ask, freakishly in unison.

Beca holds up the box for everyone to see and the room erupts with oohs and ahhs. Beca loves it but is thoroughly confused by the giver of the gift. Aubrey is the last person Beca would have expected to receive such a nice gift. Maybe the wounds don’t run as deep as she thought? Maybe there isn’t as much hatred from the blonde and her best friend as Beca had assumed?

********************************************************************

Beca feels like the size of a small minivan. Pregnancy is starting to wear thin, why can’t this baby just come today? Beca is one week overdue. She was supposed to give birth one week ago today, actually.

She rolls onto her other side, trying to get comfortable, having refused to leave bed all day, “Jessseeee!”

Jesse runs into the other room, looking frazzled, “It is time!?”

Beca shakes her head no, “Why would you think that?”

“Well, maybe it’s because you called my name like you were being murdered,” Jesse mutters, visibly annoyed.

Ok Beca’s pregnancy is starting to wear thin on both of them. She’s not going to sugar coat it, as soon as she hit 9 months, she’s been pretty unbearable to be around. Being this large, pregnant and uncomfortable has brought out all her grumpy, awful tendencies. Jesse has been a trooper; he tries so hard. Everyone has a breaking point though, even her saint of a husband.

“I was just going to see if you could get me food?” Beca asks, as kindly as she can.

Jesse sighs, “You know, the doctor said that moving around could help get things going. You might want to leave the bed and get it yourself. And after you eat, maybe we should go for a short walk.”

Jesse turns around and leaves before Beca has a chance to respond. She doesn’t want to get up and get her food, she’s uncomfortable and tired. She wants to lie in this bed forever, but she knows Jesse is right. So, she forces herself upward and into the kitchen.

“You’re right. I’m going to eat something, then let’s take the pumpkin on a walk,” Beca plasters a fake smile on her face and moves to open the fridge. Jesse shockingly, still hasn’t given up on the fruit thing. He informed her yesterday morning that the baby was the size of a small pumpkin. Beca had almost decked him.

The walk hadn’t done much. All it really did was make Beca far more tired than she already was. The sad part of it all, is that she’s been so uncomfortable she can’t even really fall asleep.

“Come on Amelia…” Beca whispers, rubbing her belly hopefully.

She desperately wishes she could be snoring away, like Jesse is next to her. She’s been staring at the ceiling in their dark bedroom for a few hours now. Beca squishes her eyes shut, just hoping for sleep. After what seems like a century, Beca starts to drift off. Just when she’s pretty much asleep a sharp pain shoots through her.

“For real kid…now?” she mumbles.

Maybe it was just nothing. She’s been having these pains for a week and they never lead to anything. That one was particularly more painful though. She closes her eyes again, hoping for sleep again. It doesn’t take much longer though, and another pain courses through her. Beca honestly doesn’t believe her body, so she does her best to fall asleep. She lies like that for a couple more hours, the pains never subsiding. They’ve only gotten worse and happen more frequently. Ok maybe it’s time to wake Jesse up.

She shoves the snoring log next to her, “Jes.”

Nothing.

She uses both hands to whack him, “JESSE.”

Incoherent noises leave his mouth as he comes to. He rolls so he’s looking at Beca, his eyes barely open, but he seems to be here for the most part.

“What Becs?” he asks sleepily.

“I think I’m in labor,” she whispers, not sure why she’s trying to be quiet.

He shakes his head, “Are you sure it’s real this time?”

She nods animatedly, “It’s different this time Jes, I can tell.”

Just as he’s about to tell her he doesn’t believe her, Beca screams in pain. That one was by far the worst so far.

Jesse’s eyes bug out of his head and he shoots out of bed, suddenly awake, “Ok I’ll call the hospital.”

Beca feels truly horrible now. She suddenly feels like she’s wet, maybe her water broke.

“Jesse!!” she screams for him panicked. 

Jesse runs into the room, phone still to his ear.

“I think my water broke,” she says worriedly.

Jesse walks over to her and rips the covers away. His face goes white, he looks like he’s seen a ghost.

“Send an ambulance. She’s bleeding…a lot,” he says into the phone as calmly as she can.

Beca knows something isn’t right. She feels another wave of panic course through her, “I’m bleeding? Jesse that’s not good!”

He grasps her shoulders, “Beca calm down. It’s going to be ok, they are on the way, as fast as they can.”

That’s the last thing Beca remembers before the entire world goes black.

Her limbs feel heavy. She feels like she’s drowned and come back to life. She can hear a steady beeping. Where is she? Beca attempts to open her eyes, but they feel like they’re made of lead.

“Beca? Beca?” now she hears Jesse’s voice and a strong hand on her shoulder.

She finally manages to get her eyes open and Jesse is staring right at her, “Jesse?”

“Oh, thank you god,” he chokes out and throws his arms around her.

Her brain feels foggy, but everything starts to come back. What happened to her baby? Where is she?

“Where’s the baby?” are the first words to leave her mouth, Amelia the only concern on her mind.

Jesse pulls away, “She’s beautiful Beca. So so beautiful.”

He walks away from her, not answering her question. Beca sees the answer to her question soon enough though. Jesse rolls over a basinet with a little pink bundle in it. Suddenly, Beca is very aware and awake. She stretches out her arms, shakily. Jesse takes their baby from the basinet and sits down on the edge of the bed next to Beca.

“Are you ok to hold her?” he asks carefully.

Beca nods, and Jesse places Amelia delicately into her arms. The moment the baby is in her arms, Beca finally has the moment. The moment she’s felt awful about not having for her entire pregnancy. Her heart beats fast and her eyes water. The moment her baby’s eyes meet hers; she knows. Her heart swells with love and the tears pour freely down her face. The love she feels for the baby in her arms is overwhelming.

“Is she ok?” she asks suddenly worried for her daughter; she knows things didn’t go as planned.

Jesse nods, “she’s perfectly healthy. And you are going to be just fine too.”

Beca almost forgot about herself, too concerned for her child’s well-being, “Oh yea, what happened Jes?”

“You had a placental abruption. They did an emergency c-section, but everything is ok. You are going to be fine and so is Amelia,” he smiles, placing a kiss on Beca’s forehead.

Normally, that type of information would freak Beca out, but all she can seem to focus on is the little baby in her arms. Nothing else matters in her world right now. Her world has been completely turned around by the presence of the little girl cradled against her. Beca has a suspicion that isn’t going to change anytime soon.


	11. Chapter 11

“So how are things going with Beca?” Aubrey asks casually, her and Chloe are both sitting outside, enjoying their morning coffee.

Chloe can’t help the megawatt smile that spreads across her face at the mention of her girlfriend, “Really, really good. Beca is wonderful. She treats me like a queen, and she loves Christopher. It’s all I could ever ask for.”

Aubrey arches her eyebrow, “Wow. I know you really like her, but I had no idea you were in this deep. But then again, I don’t think you would be bringing your son around her so much if you didn’t think it was real. Should have figured it out.”

“I love her so much Bree,” Chloe says dreamily, swirling the last bit of coffee in her cup around in circles.

Aubrey takes a long sip from her mug, then smirks at her best friend, “So…how’s the sex?”

Chloe feels a blush rise on her cheeks, “Um I wouldn’t know.”

“What?” Aubrey sounds dumbfounded, “I seriously feel like I could cut the sexual tension with a knife some days. You’ve been dating for 3 months and you still haven’t gone there?”

Chloe shakes her head, “We wanted to focus on the non-physical side of our relationship. After everything that happened with us, we wanted to make sure we had a strong foundation, so the physical side didn’t take over.”

“That’s very adult of you Chloe, that’s very adult of Beca,” Aubrey says impressed.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot though. Like A LOT,” Chloe admits, “I think we’re ready for it.”

“Well thank god,” Aubrey says sarcastically, “You’ve been wound up so tight lately. And that’s coming from ME.”

Chloe laughs, “Rude!”

“Hey, I just call it like I see it,” the blonde says, finishing the last bit of her coffee.

Ok, truth be told, Chloe hasn’t really been able to stop thinking about having sex with Beca lately. It’s kind of becoming a problem. And she _has_ been thinking of asking Beca if tonight could be the night. It’s a perfect opportunity, a lot of the time they spend together, also involves their children. Tonight, Jesse has Amelia and Aubrey is watching Christopher. The stars haven’t aligned like that since their first or second date. Chloe knows Beca has been so careful not to do anything they aren’t ready for, but Chloe is ready. She’s more than ready, she needs Beca.

In a moment of impulsiveness, Chloe grabs her phone and texts Beca.

_C: Becs…do you think we can have sex tonight?_

Chloe nervously watches as Beca starts typing, butterflies already in her stomach.

_B: Tonight? Are you ready?_

_C: More than ready…you don’t want to keep waiting, do you?_

_B: No, definitely not ;)_

Chloe’s beaming. Meanwhile Aubrey is watching her suspiciously, “So, does that smile mean something is going down tonight?”

“Maybe,” Chloe replies, biting her lip to contain the excitement.

It’s almost noon, and Chloe hasn’t really heard or seen her child since breakfast. He likes to stay in his room and play by himself sometimes, but he’d usually make an appearance by now. Chloe pushes the door to his room open, expecting to see him busy and engrossed with a lego set. Instead, what she does see, makes her worry. Christopher is sitting on the edge of his bed, just looking out the window. Something a normal, energetic 5-year-old doesn’t necessarily do unless something is wrong. She walks tentatively into his room and sits down next to him.

“Hey bug,” she runs a hand through his wavy red hair, “what’s up?”

“Mommy…” Christopher looks up at her with wide eyes, “why don’t I get to see my daddy like Amelia does…”

Chloe feels like her chest caves in on itself, she wants to cry, thinking about him feeling that way, “Oh sweetie...”

She pulls her son into her arms and hugs him as tightly as she can. They’ve had this conversation a few other times.

“He just isn’t here with us anymore, remember? But I know he loves you. And I love you so much, so does Auntie Stacie and Auntie Aubrey…and Beca.”

She feels tears welling up and spilling over, onto the back of her unsuspecting child.

“Do you want to see more pictures of your daddy?”

Christopher pulls away and nods his head excitedly. She pulls her son along with her into her room. They sit down on the floor next to Chloe’s bed and she reaches to get a box from under the bed. Chloe hasn’t looked in this box for a while, she hasn’t needed to, not with Beca around. She smiles as the first picture in the box, one of her and Chicago in front of their little house in Davis.

“This is a picture of me and your daddy in front of our first house,” she hands the picture to her son.

He beams at it, touching Chicago’s face with his little fingers, “Are there more?”

Chloe nods, pulling out a picture of just Chicago. He’s sitting on the beach, blanket below him. Chloe remembers that day vividly. It had been a blistering day and Chloe had suggested a picnic on the beach. They had had such a good day, swimming, eating…kissing. It is one of her fondest memories with him. Chloe had snapped a lot of candid shots that day and not so candid shots. She’s sure there’s one of both of them from that day in here somewhere.

An idea hits her, “Hey do you want me to put some of these in your room, would you like more pictures of daddy?”

Christopher nods excitedly, “Yes!”

“Ok pick out the ones you want,” she hands him the box of photos. She’d much rather him have them out in his room if he wants it, then in a box tucked away.

“Mommy?” he stops rifling through the photos momentarily.

“Yes bug?”

“Could I have a picture of Beca and Amelia in my room too?” he asks so genuinely it makes Chloe’s heart swell.

She is so happy that they both mean so much to him as well. They have been spending A LOT more time at Beca’s since her and Chloe started a relationship. This might be the perfect time to bridge a harder topic Chloe has been thinking about.

“So, you like Beca a lot?” she asks curiously.

He nods excitedly, “I do. She makes yummy food and she’s funny. I like it when she reads to me and Amelia.”

Butterflies erupt inside Chloe at his words, Beca has tried so hard to spend time with Christopher and get to know him. It speaks volumes to Chloe about how seriously Beca is taking their relationship. She wants to be a part of not just her life, but her son’s as well, “So you know how Auntie Stacie and Auntie Aubrey love each other?”

He nods, “Yup! Sometimes they kiss and it’s gross.”

“Well I feel that way about Beca,” she explains simply.

Christopher’s face scrunches up in disgust momentarily, “Does that mean you kiss Beca?”

Chloe can’t help but laugh at his reaction, “Yes bug, I kiss Beca.”

“Gross,” he replies.

“How do you feel about that? About me being with Beca?” she wants to make sure he is completely ok with the situation.

He nods, “It’s cool. I like Beca.”

Chloe feels relieved at his acceptance, “Oh good, I’m glad. Now show me what pictures of daddy you want.”

Christopher moves on quickly from the conversation and digs back into the photo box. Chloe makes a mental note to take a picture of her, Beca, Christopher and Amelia next time they are over. She’ll make sure it gets added to his room as well. 

**************************************************************

Beca has been absolutely vibrating with excitement and nerves since Chloe texted her this morning. She has been wanting to take things up a notch on the physical side of their relationship for a while, but she didn’t want to push Chloe. Beca knows that Chloe hasn’t been with anyone in a long time and she wants to make sure it’s right. Beca wants to make sure it’s right too, she could wait longer if she had to. She doesn’t want to, but she would do anything for Chloe.

“Amelia!” Beca calls, heading towards her daughter’s room, “did you get all your stuff ready to go to daddy’s?”

When she gets to the little girl’s room, she’s not entirely surprised to see both her bags empty, lying in a corner.

Amelia looks up at her from where she’s sitting on the floor, a pile of princess dolls in front of her, “I don’t want to go to daddy’s.”

Beca kneels down in front of her, “Why not? You love going to daddy’s. Aren’t you looking forward to playing with Chester again?”

Chester is the new golden lab puppy that Jesse recently adopted. Beca knows he mostly got him for Amelia, who hadn’t been able to keep quiet about wanting a dog for months.

Amelia just shrugs, “Yea.”

“Then why don’t you want to go?” Beca asks curiously.

“I want to stay here and see Chloe,” she says crossly, slamming the doll she was holding onto the floor.

“Oh honey, you really love Chloe, don’t you?” Beca asks, feeling so happy that Amelia loves her girlfriend so much.

The little girl nods vigorously, “I love it when she plays with me, and when we sing Disney songs. And her hugs are the best.”

“She does give pretty good hugs, doesn’t she?” Beca smiles, “but I know daddy is really looking forward to giving you a hug too.”

Amelia sighs, “I know.”

“So why don’t I help you get your stuff ready, because he’ll be here soon to get you,” Beca grabs one of Amelia’s bags from across the room and starts filling it with the clothes she knows the 5-year-old will miss while at Jesse’s.

Amelia grabs the other bag, filling it to the brim with her princess dolls and a variety of stuffed animals, “Done!”

Beca just shakes her head and laughs, “Don’t you have enough toys at daddy’s house to play with?”

“Not these ones!” she whines, Beca can’t argue with that logic.

Right on time, Beca hears the doorbell ring, “Daddy’s here, grab your stuff kiddo.”

The two head downstairs and Beca opens the front door, Jesse standing excitedly on the other side.

“Hey pumpkin!” he bends down to let the 5-year-old fling herself into his arms.

“Daddy! I wanna play with Chester!” Amelia says excitedly, suddenly remembering the little lab puppy waiting for her at Jesse’s.

“He wants to play with you too, he told me himself,” Jesse laughs.

“So, you don’t have to worry about getting her from school on Friday, Chloe’s got it covered,” Beca hadn’t meant for the Chloe part to slip out, she’s not sure how ok he is with Chloe getting so involved in their daughter’s life.

He raises an eyebrow curiously, “Chloe huh?”

“Well it only makes sense since she’s picking up Christopher,” Beca explains.

“But doesn’t Chloe live in the opposite direction?” Jesse asks curiously, he knows what’s going on.

“She’s coming over for dinner Friday night though…” Beca starts, sweating nervously.

He puts a handout to stop the impending rambling, “Becs, I don’t care, I get it. She’s your girlfriend and apparently, it’s getting serious enough to be picking up each other’s kids. To be picking up my kid.”

“Well you seem like you care,” Beca snaps, Jesse’s own rambling statement not convincing her any.

“I don’t want to get into right now,” he looks down at their daughter, “ok ready to go Amelia?”

She nods, then runs to hug Beca’s legs. Beca leans down and pulls the little girl into her arms.

“Bye mommy, love you,” she places a sloppy kiss on Beca’s cheek.

“Love you too sweet pea,” Beca kisses the top of her head, and let’s her run out the door.

“Bye Jes,” she waves at her ex, as he makes his way after their wild little one.

“See you later Beca,” he calls back, already halfway to the car, chasing after Amelia.

Beca paces around her living room anxiously, glass of wine already in her hand. Chloe should be here any minute. She’d already been excited to have Chloe over tonight, now it’s even better with the prospect of them moving their relationship up a notch. 

Beca feels a soft pair of hands land on her hips from behind, “Hey.”

Beca practically jumps through the ceiling, her heart hammering in her chest, “Oh my god Chloe, you scared the shit out of me.”

Chloe just giggles as Beca spins around to face her, “I thought I’d test out that key you gave me.”

“Great plan…” Beca says, shakily setting her wine glass down, “I only suffered a minor heart attack.”

Chloe leans in to kiss her, their lips only meeting briefly before she’s pulling away, “Can I get a glass of that?”

Beca nods, “Of course baby.”

Chloe’s cheeks flush, “That’s new…you calling me that.”

Beca hadn’t even realized she’d said it, “Oh gosh…sorry Chlo, I didn’t even know I said it.”

“No don’t apologize, I liked it,” Chloe smiles devilishly, “keep doing it.”

“Ok I will,” Beca feels weak in the knees, the way Chloe is looking at her.

She heads into the kitchen and she can feel Chloe’s presence behind her. Beca grabs a wine glass and pours her girlfriend a large glass from the open bottle on her counter.

“So…” Chloe takes the glass from Beca, “we still watching a movie tonight…or?”

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Beca asks, raising an eyebrow curiously, “We can do whatever.”

Chloe shrugs, “Sure…let’s watch a movie.”

“Ok, you sure?” Beca asks, since Chloe seems unsure, “we seriously can do whatever.”

Chloe takes a big drink of the deep red liquid in the glass she’s holding, “Actually, let’s go to your bedroom.”

Beca smirks, electricity coursing through her already, “We can do that.”

The two make their way up the stairs, into Beca’s room. Chloe stands awkwardly still in the uncharted territory, taking in all of Beca’s room. Chloe hasn’t been in here before, since most of the times she is here, the kids are too. Beca grasps Choe’s hands in hers, facing her. The red head looks uncharacteristically nervous, she usually exudes confidence and flirts effortlessly. But here, right now, she seems different.

Beca looks into cerulean eyes, and moves her hand up to cup the side of Chloe’s face, “Hey, you ok?”

Chloe nods, not entirely convincing Beca, “Yea, it’s just…I’ve wanted this for so long and now I’m here. I just…am kind of nervous about screwing it up.”

“Hey, don’t worry. I feel the same way,” Beca assures her, “and believe me, there’s no way you can screw this up.”

“I hope you’re right,” Chloe whispers, before stepping into Beca’s space, closing the gap between them.

The moment their lips meet, the air around them shifts. That heat and desperateness that has been much more prevalent in their kisses lately, surges to the surface. A whimper escapes Chloe as Beca slips her tongue past her girlfriend’s lips. Beca’s hands roam freely as they kiss, eventually finding their way under the hem of Chloe’s shirt. Her fingers skate over the impossibly smooth skin of her lower back. Beca moves them up slowly, until they hit the band of her bra. Chloe pulls away from the kiss, out of breath, and looks into Beca’s eyes. Her eyes dark with desire and her cheeks tinged red. She grabs the bottom of her shirt, whipping it over her head. Beca’s eyes roam over her, drinking in the sight of her toned stomach and the swell of her breasts, still hidden behind dark blue satin.

Chloe smirks, noticing Beca’s lingering gaze, “Liking what you see?”

Beca just nods and surges back forward, placing kisses across her collar bone and up the side of her neck. An airy moan rolls past Chloe’s lips as Beca sucks particularly hard on her neck, leaving a bright mark. Beca lips don’t leave Chloe’s skin, blazing down towards her chest. Before Beca can reach the destination she was seeking, Chloe pulls her back up and into a searing kiss. She takes hold of Beca’s shoulders, walking them to the bed. Her knees hit the bed and before she can even process it, she’s sitting with Chloe already astride her lap. Beca breaks their lips apart and looks at the beautiful woman in her lap. She moves her hand to Chloe’s back and looks into her eyes as her hands reach the clasp of her bra. Chloe nods and Beca doesn’t hesitate to unhook it. The red head moves her own hands down to Beca’s shirt and she eagerly lets her girlfriend pull it over her head. Chloe doesn’t stop at her light t-shirt but moves to also remove her bra. Now both of them sit topless, searing the image of each other like this into their minds.

“You are beautiful…” Beca whispers.

She can’t rip her eyes away from the woman in her lap, her breathing still heavy, pupils completely blown now. Her gaze keeps dropping to Chloe’s chest, the perfect round swell of her breasts, the already stiffened peaks in the center. Chloe seems to be looking at her with the same adoration.

Beca is the first to make the next move, moving a hand to gently cup Chloe’s right breast. She runs a finger over her nipple, Chloe’s back arching at the first touch. Beca continues her ministrations with her right hand and moves her mouth to her other breast. Chloe moans at the new sensation. The noise sends another blast of arousal through Beca, she’s not sure how much more turned on she could be at this point.

She’s quickly proved wrong, the second Beca feels Chloe’s hands on her own breasts, she’s taken to an entirely new level. Chloe starts to grind down onto Beca’s thigh from her spot on her lap. The action makes Beca’s brain short circuit, the ache between her own legs growing exponentially. Beca needs to feel more of Chloe, she needs the thick layer of denim they are both still wearing gone. She moves a hand down to the button of Chloe’s jeans.

“These need to go,” Beca says breathily, popping them open and sliding the zipper down.

Chloe stands up, so Beca can yank the tight fabric down her legs, leaving her in just a dark blue pair of panties. Beca follows suit, standing up, moving her hands to the waist of her jeans.

“Wait,” Chloe says, moving her own hand to the button of her jeans, “I want to do it.”

Beca lets her pull her pants down, “Who am I to deny that request?”

Chloe smirks, then drops to her knees as Beca steps out of her jeans. Beca looks down to meet her eyes and the look the Chloe is giving her is enough to send her tumbling backwards onto the bed. She starts placing kisses up the inside of Beca’s leg, slowly making her way up to her inner thigh. Chloe places one kiss over wet lace, making Beca shudder and groan loudly.

Even though Beca would love for Chloe to continue and take her right now, she wants to make Chloe feel good first, “Hey, come back up here.”

Chloe looks up at her worriedly, “Is this not ok?”

Beca shakes her head, “No, it’s more than ok. I just want to take care of you first.”

“Oh…” a small smile forming on Chloe’s lips.

She stands back up and Beca turns them around, pushing the other girl down onto the bed. Chloe moves so she is lying against the pillows at the head of the bed. Beca moves next to her, pulling her into another heated kiss. They turn so, their fronts are against each other, Beca loves the feeling of their bare chests rubbing together. She moves a leg high between Chloe’s thighs as they messily kiss, pushing it up into the red head. Chloe moans into the kiss and starts to rock against Beca’s leg. Chloe moves her own leg between Beca’s, soon the two are rocking against each other desperately. Their arousals continue to grow and Beca’s pretty sure if they keep this up, she’ll reach her climax in no time. She stops moving against the leg between her and pushes Chloe down gently, so she’s lying on her back, effectively breaking their kiss.

Chloe looks up at her expectantly, lips swollen and her chest and face flushed, “Becs…”

Instead of returning to her lips, Beca moves her mouth back down to a breast, stimulating the other with her hand. She feels Chloe shifting her hips anxiously, seeking some relief, “Please Beca.”

Beca runs her hand down Chloe’s stomach, until she’s right at the edge of her panties. She moves her face from her chest and looks up at her girlfriend. Her fingers slip past the barrier and into wet heat. As soon as Beca’s fingers find the little bundle of nerves she’s looking for, Chloe’s head tips back and her whole body arches at the contact. Beca can’t do much more than watch how her movements affect the other woman, it’s mesmerizing. Sighs and gasps pour from her mouth, her hair splayed out on the pillow under her like a halo, it’s ethereal.

As much as Beca would love to watch Chloe fall apart under her fingers, the desire to taste her wins out. Without stopping the movements of her hand, Beca places delicate kisses down her stomach and slides down the bed to move in between Chloe’s legs. Chloe’s eyes meet hers as she kneels between her girlfriend’s legs. Beca grabs the waistband of her panties and pulls them down, throwing them onto the floor with the rest of their clothes. She quickly lies down and moves her mouth to Chloe’s center. Beca already knows how worked up she is, so she wastes no time in running her tongue through her wetness. She looks up to see Chloe looking directly at her, eyes smoldering. Beca moves a finger to Chloe’s entrance experimentally, making the red head moan loudly. It spurs Beca on to slip a finger into her, her mouth never leaving her clit and it seems to be the right move.

“Oh god baby…” Chloe moans, using the pet name Beca had earlier.

The use of it on her now does things to Beca. She’d never thought she could get so much pleasure herself from pleasuring someone else. It’s never been that way for Beca, but Chloe makes Beca feel things she’s never felt before.

“Becs…” Chloe pants from above her, “I’m so close…”

The admission practically makes Beca come right then and there. She speeds up her actions on Chloe, fighting the urge to slide a hand into her own underwear. Beca keeps her eyes on Chloe, wanting to watch the moment she comes undone. In a matter of moments, Beca can feel her walls tighten around her fingers and Chloe’s body goes stiff. Her thighs clench around Beca’s head and she watches in awe as Chloe rides out her orgasm. When she’s finally come down from her high, Beca crawls up her body, pulling her into a deep, messy kiss.

Chloe pulls away from the kiss, still catching her breath, “That was amazing Becs.”

“Yea it was,” Beca agrees, leaning in to kiss Chloe again, their mouth moving softly against each other’s.

“Can I touch you?” Chloe whispers against Beca’s mouth.

“Of course, you don’t have to ask,” Beca replies sweetly.

Chloe moves her hand down Beca’s body, stopping at her breasts first. She doesn’t stay there long, her hand blazing down towards where Beca needs her the most. Chloe cups her through her underwear, Beca’s sure she can feel how wet she is through the thin fabric.

“Becs…” she stutters, tracing a finger up and down her slit through the fabric, “you’re so wet.”

“That’s what you do to me Chlo,” Beca admits, voice rough with need.

Chloe flips them suddenly, so she’s straddling Beca. She grabs Beca’s panties by the waist and helps slide them down and off, until Chloe is kneeling between her legs, eerily similar to the position Beca was just in. Chloe lays down, so she is level with Beca’s center. Beca can hardly believe this is really going to happen. This being Chloe’s first experience with a woman, she figured it wouldn’t be something she’d be comfortable with right off the bat.

Chloe looks up at Beca before doing anything, “I’ve never done this, so let me know if something doesn’t feel good, or if I should try something else.”

Beca nods weakly, smiling at her girlfriend, “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

Chloe starts with a few feather light kisses on her inner thigh, slowly working inward. The anticipation is killing her. When Chloe finally licks up Beca’s slit tentatively, her hips jolt off the bed. It doesn’t seem the faze Chloe at all, she continues to make long strokes up and down, until she finally settles on the aching nub calling for her attention.

“Oh fuck, Chlo,” Beca pants, reveling in the feeling of her girlfriend’s tongue on her.

Chloe continues her ministrations, profanities spilling from Beca’s mouth the entire time. It doesn’t take much before Beca can feel her impending orgasm. She knew it wasn’t going to take long, with how close she had been from going down on Chloe. What finally pushes her over the edge is Chloe slipping a finger into her, curling it slightly. A loud moan escapes her as she comes, her legs slamming closed around Chloe’s head. When Beca’s finally rode it out, Chloe doesn’t stop, still pumping a finger in and out of her, mouth attached to her clit. She seems to determined to make Beca come again. It works, Beca feels another orgasm approaching quicker than the first.

“Don’t stop Chlo…shit,” she grunts out, seeking her second release.

The second wave of pleasure crashes down around her, stronger than the first. It feels like years before she finally stops shaking. Chloe finally pulls her fingers from her and moves up to kiss Beca and she moans at the taste of herself on Chloe’s lips.

“I don’t think you have to worry about not knowing what you’re doing,” Beca laughs, “that was seriously some of the hottest sex I’ve ever had.”

Chloe kisses her hard in response, “I love you.”

Beca’s heart swells at her words, she doesn’t think she’ll ever feel different when she hears those words, “I love you so much Chlo.”

Beca’s eyes feel heavy as she opens them, sunlight streaming in the open curtains they forgot to close last night. She can tell it’s too early for her to be up, after how long they stayed up, making love into the wee hours of the morning. Beca smiles at the memory but more at the feeling of the beautiful red head still asleep next to her. Chloe’s arm is wrapped protectively around Beca’s stomach, her bare chest pressed up against her back. She wants to turn around to look at her, but fearing it will wake her up, she settles on running her fingers up and down her arm lightly. If she could wake up like this every morning, she’d eternally happy. Beca wants to fall asleep and wake up to the woman next to her every day. She wants her at every dinner, every birthday, Christmas, dance recital, soccer game; Beca just wants Chloe in her life permanently. It’s too early to think about asking Chloe to marry her she knows that, but god does she want to. Beca knows that Chloe is it for her, she just hopes that Chloe feels the same way.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the last few. This one gave me some trouble!

****

_*5 years ago*_

To say things are going well for Beca and Jesse would be a vast overgeneralization. The year following Amelia’s birth has been one of the best…but also hardest years of her life. The months following her daughter’s birth had been rough for Beca. She had postpartum depression; Jesse had supported her as best as he could, but the understanding only went so far. There had been many fights between the two about why Beca wouldn’t take care of Amelia, why she stayed in bed and cried most days. It had gotten so bad that Jesse had to almost, literally drag Beca into the doctor’s for help. Beca had bounced back eventually but her and Jesse’s relationship had taken a hit.

Somewhere between the rough last couple months of her pregnancy and the end of her horrid depression, Beca had started to feel differently. She wasn’t the same person. Pregnancy changed her, birth changed her, this baby changed her. Somewhere throughout this year her feelings for Jesse changed. It’s like the love for him she had has extinguished. She’s not sure who put out the fire. Maybe it’s the all-consuming love for her child? Maybe it’s just so big it pushed Jesse out? Maybe it’s the fact that Jesse was originally her rebound? Was the love Beca felt for him ever truly real? It’s weighed on her heavily, she’s tried to figure it out but somewhere along the way she fell out of love with him.

It’s been hard with him. She knows he can tell something is off. Beca doesn’t go out of her way to kiss him. There’s about 10 miles of space between them in their bed at night. She’s shut down almost every attempt at romance he’s attempted lately. He brought up having sex the other night. Beca felt like a deer frozen in the headlights. She had eventually blown it off with the “I’m not ready yet” card. That had sparked a whole new argument. They’ve been fighting more often than not. Honestly, the only thing keeping her here, tied to him is Amelia. Beca wishes she could make this work for her daughter. It’s just some days she feels like she’s suffocating. She finally broke down the other day and confided in Emily, of all people. The younger girl had listened patiently and let her cry it out. Emily had suggested marriage counseling. Beca had scoffed at the idea but the more she’s thought about it, maybe they should.

For some reason, this morning Beca woke up feeling braver than normal. She might as well capitalize on the feeling, so when Jesse walks into the kitchen the make some coffee, Beca takes her shot.

“So, Jesse…” Beca starts out tentatively, setting the bowl of baby cereal down in front of their daughter, “I was thinking…”

“That’s never a good thing,” Jesse jokes, stopping to make a goofy face at Amelia on his way to the fridge.

“I was thinking maybe we should consider seeing a marriage counselor,” Beca manages to semi-confidently choke out.

Jesse eyebrows practically shoot off his forehead, “Marriage counseling? Why in the world would be need to do that?”

It’s Beca’s turn for her eyes to bulge out of her head, “Are you kidding Jes…you seriously think what we’ve got going on is ok?”

“What I think we’ve got going on is a _you_ problem,” he says throwing her a glare, “I’ve been trying Beca.”

“A ME problem? For real Jesse?” Beca barks back a little bit louder than she meant to.

“Yea, you’ve been checked out of our relationship ever since we brought Amelia home,” he says louder, pointing an accusing finger at her, “I’ve done nothing but try to fix it.”

“Well excuse me for being so depressed I could barely move for 3 months,” Beca bites back, “something that was entirely out of my control. And sorry for putting our daughter first.”

“Beca…” he sighs, his eyes softening momentarily, “I didn’t mean to make it sound like I blame you for the postpartum depression. And I love that you always put Amelia before anything…it just feels like I’m the only one trying to keep our marriage together anymore.”

“That’s why I want to do the marriage counseling Jes,” she tries to re-explain the situation, “I know I have some things to work on, but I think this could help both of us.”

“Ok, we can try marriage counseling,” Jesse accepts defeat, his face still plastered with uncertainty, “just let me know when the appointment is, I’ll be there.”

“Thank you Jesse,” Beca is relieved that he’s agreed. She’s still not sure how much it will help, but she’s willing to try. She’s willing to try for the little girl in the highchair in front of her, who is just barely one. Beca wants her to have parents that are together. Beca lived through the divorced parents thing. It left her with more scars than she’d ever like to admit. She doesn’t want that for Amelia.

**********************************************************************

So, as it turns out, marriage counseling didn’t do a whole lot for Jesse and Beca’s problems. It did make Beca realize she needs her own help. Maybe Jesse was on to something when he had said it was her issue. After a few sessions of counseling, Beca had made an appointment for some solo therapy. There’s not a lot that surprised her, she’s got daddy issues. She’s guarded and has trouble letting people in. There was something that took a few sessions for them to undercover, that had surprised Beca.

Beca _still_ has Chloe issues.

In hindsight Beca should have expected that. She’s just done such a good job of tamping down any ounce of feeling she has for Chloe (at least that’s what she thought). Since the therapist brought it up, it’s like the flood gates have been opened.

“Beca, I think there’s a part of you that knows exactly why you’re pulling away from Jesse,” her therapist, Rachel, looks at Beca intently.

“I told you, Chloe was never part of this problem,” Beca sighs, she does know that’s bullshit, but she knows the moment she says the truth out loud it’s going to be real.

Rachel takes her glasses off and leans back into her armchair, “I know you know that’s not true.”

Beca wishes she hadn’t bothered to try and fix any of her problems. She wants to ground to open up and swallow her whole. Her and Rachel stare at each other, silence filling the air. Rachel is giving her time to think, time to answer. She wishes they’d just talk about something else. Beca knows the truth, but once it’s out in the air, it’s a real problem. What if she’s not ready for that? Maybe she needs to do it whether she’s ready or not.

“I still love Chloe,” Beca breathes out shakily, unshed tears fogging her eyes, “I still love her and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.”

She tried to stay she really did. She tried to make it work with Jesse for weeks after admitting her love for Chloe with the therapist. Beca thinks it might be kind of idiotic to end a marriage because you’re in love with someone you don’t even talk to anymore. At the same time, what are her other options? It’s not fair to Jesse for her to stay because she doesn’t love him like she should. It’s not fair for her or Jesse. They’ve come to a crossroads and they both know it.

“I just don’t love you anymore Jes…” Beca trails off, trying to choke back sobs.

Beca had finally initiated the conversation, after Amelia went to bed one night. She didn’t want to but if she didn’t Jesse would never had brought it up. It started out calm, easy. It didn’t stay that way…

“It’s Chloe, isn’t it?!” Jesse quietly “yells”, aware their daughter is sleeping just down the hall, “I know you’ve always loved her. I was never going to be enough.”

His response knocks the air out of Beca’s chest. How he hit the nail on the head so quickly, Beca isn’t quite sure. She’s stunned in silence, unsure what he next sentence to him should be.

“God, I was a fool way back then to think I could get you to love me again…” he runs his hand through his hair desperately, tears of his own crawling down his cheeks.

“Jesse, I did love you…I did,” Beca sobs, because she did love him, “there was nothing fake or untrue about my feelings for you.”

“Then what is it? What happened?” he shakes his head in confusion, “I need to try and understand this Beca.”

She has to tell him the truth. If there’s one thing she got out of therapy, it’s that she needs to be honest about her feelings.

“Jesse, I loved you. You made me so happy. I don’t regret what we had for a minute,” Beca twiddles her thumbs anxiously in her lap, the next thing she says is not going to go well, “but, there’s been a part of me that’s always felt something for Chloe still.”

The dead air around them now is uncomfortable. It feels like years before Jesse finally responds.

"Do you love her?" there’s so little emotion to his voice it almost worries her.

There’s no backing out after how far they’ve gotten, “Yes.”

“Well for what it’s worth,” there’s a new venom and bite to his tone, “I’m pretty sure she loves you too…at least she did.”

************************************************************************

The divorce had been relatively easy. Neither of them were out for blood. There was no fighting over possessions or money. Beca had let Jesse stay in the apartment. Despite all her problems in the last year and the whole having a baby thing, Beca’s career has taken off. She’s on the radio now. She’s been gaining a lot of attention. It’s not like she needs to live in this little apartment anymore. She has the money for something else. Ok, so she bought a house, you could call it a quarter life crisis purchase.

They came to an agreement about joint custody without too much trouble. Beca made sure they would have equal time. She feels bad and takes ownership over their divorce, so she didn’t want to fight over their daughter. Amelia deserves to have equal time with both of them.

The first week after the divorce was Beca’s week with Amelia. It hadn’t been too weird. Being a single mom isn’t the worst. Although, she’s going to have to find a good babysitter or nanny. Beca’s career is getting demanding the more it takes off. She hates to be that person, but she doesn’t have much of a choice.

The hardest part so far, that she hasn’t even thought about, was the week she would spend without Amelia. Her daughter, who has become her everything, the reason she gets up in the morning. Her beautiful little face and surprisingly sparkling personality for a one year old, is what she knows she can never live without. Beca can barely stand being apart from her when she has to go to the studio or when she has to go do some kind of press stunt. Although, with the sitter struggle, Amelia has been coming along more often than not, spending the day with her assistant or whoever she can rope into it.

So, when Jesse finally rings the doorbell on Sunday morning, Beca feels her composure cracking. Beca grabs Amelia from the floor where she was crawling and swings the diaper bag with all the essentials over her shoulder. This shouldn’t be as hard as it is, but she can’t imagine not seeing her little girl for a week.

“Mama! Mama!” Amelia coos excitedly as they walk towards the front door.

Beca kisses her on the cheek and runs a hand over her little brown wisps of hair, “I love you sweet girl. Be good for your dada this week.”

She takes a deep breath and gives Amelia a squeeze before opening the door, “Hey Jesse.”

“Hey Beca,” he gives an awkward wave before looking to his daughter, “hey pumpkin.”

“Dada!” the little girl in her arms squeals excitedly.

Beca reluctantly passes Amelia over to Jesse. She giggles excitedly the second she’s with him, it makes Beca happy but also…kind of jealous.

“Ok, so here are some things she’ll need,” Beca swings the diaper bag off her shoulder and hands it to her ex.

“Thanks,” he accepts it, swinging it over his own shoulder, “anything I should know?”

Amelia seems to change every week, so his question is valid, “She really likes bananas now and she’s going to cry if you try and take the little purple cat toy away from her. I put it in the bag so she wouldn’t risk dropping it on the way to the car.”

He nods affirmatively, “Got it, bananas and purple cat.”

“Oh, and you need to sing to her to get her to sleep,” Beca adds before he can leave.

“I remembered,” he smiles, “I’m sure it won’t be as good as when you sing to her, but I’ll try my best.”

Duh, they did live together not that long ago. She doesn’t know why she thought he would have forgotten that.

“I’ll bring her back on Sunday,” he takes Amelia’s pudgy little hand and makes it wave at Beca, “Wave goodbye to your mama.”

She looks confused at the motion and it makes Beca laugh. Jesse turns to leave and Beca can’t bear to watch them go. She shuts the door but before it’s all the way closed, she hears a shrill cry from her daughter, “MAMA!”

Beca can’t open the door or she’s not going to let her go. So she closes it and her heart breaks in two.


	13. Chapter 13

It feels like Chloe has been waiting for Friday for forever. This week has been insanely busy for both her and Beca. They haven’t been able to properly see each other since their night together last Saturday. Shivers still run down her spine at the thought of their last encounter. Chloe is positive she’s never felt so loved and connected to someone. She knows it will be a while before they can do anything like that again, with how busy their lives have been. She can’t help but think about how amazing it would be to wake up to her girlfriend every morning, no matter how insane life got.

The honking of a horn pulls her out of her thoughts. She flushes with embarrassment when she realizes she’s been sitting at a green light, too lost in her own head. Chloe presses down on the gas and shakes her head as the asshole behind her speeds around her before they are even through the intersection. She made sure to leave work with plenty of time to pick up Christopher and Amelia today. This is the first time she’s picking up Amelia from school as well as her own son. It seems like a step forward in her and Beca’s relationship, it feels even more serious.

She ends up pulling up to the school with plenty of time to spare, so she decides to get out and go wait for the two inside. When she walks in and gets near the classroom, there are already some parents waiting. Chloe walks over to a bulletin board where some of the kid’s artwork is on display. She scans the paintings, looking for Christopher’s or Amelia’s. Just when her eyes land on Amelia’s she hears a familiar voice behind her.

“Cute paintings, don’t you think? Did you find your son’s?” Chloe spins around to see Jesse standing in the hallway behind her.

Chloe lifts an eyebrow curiously, and she’s sure the confusion is written all over her face, “Jesse what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to get my daughter?” he seems equally confused.

“Didn’t Beca tell you I was picking her up today?” Chloe asks.

“I thought I told Beca I was getting Amelia,” Jesse whips his phone, presumably to check his messages with Beca, “she had mentioned you having it covered, but I always get Amelia on Friday.”

Chloe’s confusion is quickly replaced with anger, “Ok if she told you I was getting her, why are you here? Not to be rude about it or anything.”

“Don’t you think it’s a little bold of you to question why I’m getting my own daughter?” Jesse quips back, his own irritation evident.

“But we already had it all planned out Jesse. Yes, you have a right to pick you daughter up, but I was going to today,” Chloe explains carefully.

“You’re not her mom Chloe. When that happens, we’ll talk about your rights to my daughter,” Jesse walks away from her and thank god he did or he would have ended up with a black eye.

Chloe is absolutely fuming. She hates that she’s an angry crier because she can already feel the prickling hot tears on the edge of her eyelids. Who does Jesse think he is? Does he have no respect for her or Beca? Chloe doesn’t even notice that the bell rang, and Christopher is now standing next to her, pulling at the leg of her scrub pants to get her attention.

“Mommy? Are we going?” he asks a little louder than he normally would.

“Oh, sorry bug,” she grabs his hand, “yea let’s go.”

“Isn’t Amelia coming with us?” Christopher asks innocently.

Chloe shakes her head and tries not to show her anger to the 5-year-old, “Her daddy picked her up instead.”

The second they get in the car and start down the road, Chloe dials Beca’s number. It rings a few times before she picks up.

_“Hey baby? What’s up?”_

“Just trying not to murder your ex-husband. That’s what,” Chloe spits angrily into the phone.

She hears Beca sigh on the other end, “ _What happened?”_

“He showed up at the school when he knew I was picking up both the kids. He made up some dumb excuse about being sure he told you and that he always gets Amelia on Friday,” Chloe can already feel the angry tears returning as she tells the story.

_“Oh my god, Chlo. I’m sorry, he’s a dumbass,” Beca groans, “he had kind of given me some grief about you picking up the kids last Saturday. I should have seen this coming…there’s more isn’t there?”_

“He said I’m not her mom and that I don’t have any rights to her until that happens,” Chloe blurts out hotly, “and I know I’m not her mom, but I would like to think…”

“ _Oh Chloe, I’m so sorry he was such an ass to you. I think that he forgets that Amelia is just as much my daughter as his most days…”_ Beca cuts her off before she can continue rambling. She sounds defeated, there’s got to be more of a story behind those words, _“you do have a right to be in Amelia’s life because I say so. You are my girlfriend and Amelia loves you like a mom.”_

Beca’s words instantly change her mood, her chest fills with love for the brunette and her little girl, “I love you so much Becs. And I love Amelia.”

_“I love you too Chloe, Amelia and I are lucky to have you in our lives…and I will be talking to Jesse about this.”_

“Thanks Beca,” Chloe smiles.

_“No problem, you guys are still coming over tonight, right?”_

“Of course,” Chloe quickly replies, “we’ll be over in about an hour.”

_“Awes, see you soon baby.”_

True to her word, almost an hour later, Chloe pulls into Beca’s driveway. Chloe lets herself and Christopher into the house. It sounds and feels empty, but she knows Beca got home a little while ago. She leads Christopher into the living room and turns on the TV for him.

“Stay here and play while mommy goes and finds Beca ok,” she tells her son.

He nods, content with the cars he brought along and the cartoons on the screen, “K Mommy.”

Chloe heads up the stairs, thinking her girlfriend may be in her room. She pushes the door to the bedroom open, no Beca to be found. She almost turns around and leaves, then she sees light pouring out of the ensuite bathroom.

“Becs?” Chloe calls out.

“Hey Chloe,” she hears from behind the semi-ajar door.

The door opens completely after a minute and Beca steps out of the bathroom, freshly showered, wrapped up in a towel. Her hair hangs in wet tendrils around her face and her skin is still a little red and damp. It must have been a hot shower. Chloe’s mouth goes dry as she surveys her girlfriend’s post shower state. If her son wasn’t downstairs, she wouldn’t be standing still staring.

Beca smirks, noticing Chloe’s eyes scanning her appreciatively, “See something you like?”

Beca throwing Chloe’s own word back at her from the other night make her surprisingly turned on, “Maybe.”

Beca turns away from Chloe and sheds her towel as she heads to her dresser. The sight of her completely bare backside does nothing to help Chloe’s growing state of arousal. Beca knows they can’t do anything, not with Christopher downstairs. She’s being a tease and doing a damn good job at it. When Beca reaches the dresser she bends down slowly, to open the bottom drawer, putting her ass and more completely on display for the red head. Chloe watches her intently as she slips her legs into a pair of panties and hooks a bra on. Beca saunters back over to Chloe, probably headed towards the walk-in closet on the other side of the room. Before she can make it into the closet, Chloe grabs her by the arm and into a searing kiss. Beca gasps into the kiss, completely taken by surprise. Chloe kisses Beca with everything she has in her, quickly slipping her tongue into her mouth. Her hands slide down to grab round flesh only covered by a thin layer of lace. The move pulls a moan from Beca, and that’s when Chloe completely pulls away, stepping back from her girlfriend. Beca gapes at her, her breathing heavy. Two can play at the teasing game.

“Ok, better make sure Christopher didn’t get into anything!” she turns on her heels to leave the bedroom and this time Beca’s hand stops her.

Chloe turns back around, smirking, “Something wrong Becs?”

Beca pulls her back into a sloppy kiss, immediately thrusting her leg in between Chloe’s and moving her hand up to a breast. This time Chloe moans, her senses overloaded with everything Beca. She sinks down onto the leg in between her own, as soon as she does, Beca completely pulls away. Chloe should have seen that coming.

“Better go back downstairs to check on your son,” Beca says playfully, and whispers into her ear before she can go, “ _payback is a bitch Chloe.”_

Fuck. This woman is going to be the death of her. Chloe walks back downstairs on shaky legs. Christopher is still sitting in the same spot on the sofa, completely enthralled by whatever show is on Beca’s large TV. Chloe sits down next to him and pulls out her phone. Shortly after she gets comfy, the doorbell rings. Chloe scrunches her face in confusion, she didn’t think Beca was expecting anyone. She relaxes back into the sofa, assuming Beca will take care of it. I few moments later it rings again. Beca must still be getting ready. Chloe slides off the sofa and heads to the front door. On the other side of the door are Jesse and Amelia.

“Chloe!!” Amelia squeals, throwing herself at the woman.

“Oh, Chloe, hi,” Jesse says awkwardly when he realizes it isn’t Beca that opened the door.

Chloe gives him an obligatory smile before looking down at the little clone of Beca, “Hey cutie! Your mom said you’ve been excited to see me?”

The little girl nods, jumping up and down happily, “I missed you Chloe!”

“I missed you too,” Chloe replies genuinely.

“Jesse, hey,” Chloe hears from behind her as a soft hand lands on her lower back.

“Hey Beca,” he replies.

“Chloe, do you want to take Amelia in by Christopher? I’m going to talk to Jesse quick,” Beca asks, giving Chloe a look that she knows means Beca is about to bring up this afternoon.

Chloe nods, “Sure can,” she grabs Amelia by the hand, “let’s go Amelia.”

Chloe makes sure Amelia is settled and staying put before her curiosity gets the better of her. She quietly heads back to the entry way of Beca’s house, stopping just short of where the two can see her.

“Jesse. Chloe was so excited about this afternoon. I told you last Saturday you didn’t need to get her today,” Beca explains calmly, but Chloe can hear a definite bite to her words.

Jesse huffs loudly, “Maybe I’m not comfortable with the idea of Chloe getting her.”

“Why?” Beca responds clearly irritated now.

“Is this thing with Chloe even serious?” he asks avoiding her question.

“Of course it is! Do you really think this would be some fling?” Beca barks.

“Well your track record speaks for itself,” the anger between them is palpable.

“What is your fucking problem dude?” Beca snaps.

“Sorry for being a little bitter that Chloe took my wife away from me without even trying,” he replies sourly, “Maybe I don’t want her taking my daughter away from me too.”

“She did no such thing and she’s not “stealing you daughter”, get your head out of your ass Jesse.”

“Really? I need to get my head out of my ass? Really mature Beca,” Chloe can practically hear his eyes roll from where she’s standing, “tell me right here and now that Chloe isn’t why we split.”

Chloe feels her stomach fall to her feet. What does Jesse mean? She feels sick.

“She’s not the only reason. It wouldn’t have been fair to either of us Jesse, I’m gay.”

“Yea but you didn’t know that. All you knew was that you loved Chloe,” Jesse throws it right back at her.

“Can we please not re-hash the details of our divorce right now?” Beca sighs, “And as far as everything goes, you’re going to have to get used to Chloe being around. You’re going to have to be ok with her being around Amelia. She’s it for me Jes.”

Chloe’s heart flutters at Beca’s words. She’s relieved that Beca feels the same way as she does. Chloe knows there is no one else for her, it’s only Beca.

“I kind of figured,” Jesse’s voice sounds softer now, “Just let me know that Chloe isn’t going to replace me in Amelia’s life.”

“Of course not Jesse,” Beca sounds like she’s backed down as well, “you’re her dad and that’s never going to change.”

“I’m sorry Beca, can I apologize to Chloe?”

That’s Chloe’s cue to leave. She runs back to the living room quietly; the kids are still playing with each other. She slips onto the sofa and grabs the TV remote to flip through the channels, making herself look busy. Soon, Jesse and Beca are standing in the living room in front of her.

“Chloe,” Jesse looks pretty sincere as he starts to speak, “I’m really sorry about this afternoon. That wasn’t cool of me.”

“It’s ok,” Chloe brushes it off when she really wants to be angry about it, but he’s been truthful, and Chloe doesn’t play dirty.

“No, it wasn’t really ok,” he actually does look sorry, “I’m glad that you are a positive influence in Amelia’s life. She thinks the world of you. She talked about you this week a lot.”

So maybe that’s why Jesse is acting so strongly about her being involved with his daughter, “I’m glad. And thank you Jesse.”

He nods, “Ok, well I’ll see myself out now. Have a good night guys.”

After Jesse leaves, Beca sits down next to Chloe and grabs her hand.

“You heard a lot of that didn’t you?” Beca asks, she knows Chloe too well.

She just nods, not sure what to bring up first.

“I know we’ve talked about my divorce…I didn’t mean for you to find out what really happened that way,” Beca seems embarrassed about the whole thing.

“It’s ok Becs, I don’t need to know what happened,” Chloe is actually very curious, but she doesn’t need to make Beca rip open any wounds, “you don’t have to explain yourself. What happened is between you and Jesse.”

Beca sighs, presumably relieve, “Ok, but if you change your mind, I can tell you.”

“I appreciate you wanting to be honest with me, but I only want you to tell me if you want to,” Chloe places her hand on her girlfriend’s cheek, comfortingly.

Beca leans into it, her eyes fluttering shut, “I don’t deserve you.”

“Yes you do, and I love you,” Chloe kisses her lightly.

“EEWW,” two little voices say in unison followed by a sting of giggles, their children not amused by their little display of affection.

Chloe was unaware they were even watching the two of them, she smiles at their antics.

“You thought that was bad?” Beca smiles at the children before grabbing Chloe’s face and planting a solid kiss on her lips, breaking away after only a few moments.

This time the two just giggle, but Amelia gets up and walks over to the pair.

“Chloe?” she looks up and asks sweetly.

“Yes?” Chloe scoots away from Beca and pats the space between them, letting the little girl know it’s ok to sit down.

She jumps up on the sofa and looks right at Chloe, ignoring her mother, “I don’t want you to leave.”

“Oh sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere,” Chloe runs her hand through her dark brown hair.

“Can you live with me and mommy?” she asks next, looking up at Chloe with sparkling brown eyes.

Chloe would love to live with Beca and Amelia but she’s not sure now is the right time to admit it, “We’ll see.”

“Yes?” she asks hopefully.

Beca grabs her daughter and pulls her onto her lap, “Don’t bug Chloe too much sweet pea. She doesn’t know.”

Chloe lets it slide for now, but maybe her and Beca can have a conversation about that sometime soon.

After a big dinner and a long night of fun with their children, Chloe had readily agreed to stay over that night. Thank goodness she had thought to bring Christopher’s overnight stuff, having a feeling that this was going to happen. They tucked both kids in and read them a story. Understandably, Christopher had felt apprehensive about staying in the big bed in the guest room by himself, so Beca found an air mattress she keeps for overflow guests. They blew it up and put it in Amelia’s room and both the energetic little kids had been very excited for their sleep over.

“You think they’re going to sleep at all tonight? Chloe asks, mouth full of toothpaste.

Beca walks in from the bedroom and over to the sink where Chloe is standing, “They’ll be too tired to keep going eventually…we might find them passed out in a pile of toys tomorrow morning though.”

Chloe spits out the minty paste in her mouth and puts her toothbrush away in a drawer she claimed for herself, “And they’ll probably still be awake before any normal human should be, I wish I had their energy.”

“Me too,” Beca steps behind her, looking at them both in the mirror, her hands settle on Chloe’s hips and her lips brush lightly over her neck, making Chloe shiver, “but you aren’t going to have much energy tomorrow morning if I have my way with you tonight…”

The imagery behind her words makes Chloe’s skin tingle, “but the kids are down the hall.”

“Then you’re going to have to be quiet,” Beca whispers in her ear.

“That goes for you too…” Chloe spins around and kisses Beca hard, knowing full well the brunette doesn’t know how to be quiet.

Chloe wakes up slowly, confused about where she’s at, until she feels soft lips on her shoulder and fingertips on her arm. Beca is pressed up against her, their legs tangled together under the sheets. 

“Mm,” she hums at the feeling of Beca’s feather light touches and kisses, “morning.”

“Morning,” Beca replies softly, moving the hand that was tracing her arm, to drape it over her stomach.

“What time is it?” Chloe asks still a little groggy, because she is tired, because Beca _did_ wear her out last night.

“8,” Beca says quickly.

Chloe spins around so she’s facing her girlfriend, “And the kids aren’t up yet?”

Beca shakes her head, “Surprisingly, no. I think I was right about them playing themselves to sleep.”

“Wow, it’s a miracle,” Chloe says half sarcastically half truthfully, and then leans to kiss Beca, who eagerly reciprocates.

They stay like that for a while, lips moving lazily against each other’s. Beca finally pulls away when the need for air wins out. Chloe stares at Beca almost pensively, memorizing the steely blue grey of her eyes, and the way her lips curl into a small smile every time her gaze drifts down to them.

Beca runs a hand through Chloe’s messy, morning hair, “What are you thinking about?”

Chloe grabs the hand that had been running through her hair and laces their fingers together, “Just that I wish that this is how I could always wake up, next to you, in your arms.”

“Move in with me,” Beca poses it as a statement more than a question and her cheeks flush as soon as she says it.

“Oh Becs, I would love to,” her girlfriend’s eyes sparkle before she continues her sentence, “but, I’m going to have to think about it. I have to talk to Christopher about it, he’s lived in the same house with the same three people his whole life. I don’t want to uproot him if he’s not ready.”

“I understand, you have to put him first,” Beca looks a little disappointed but she gets it, “I would do the same.”

“But it’s not a no…I just need some time,” Chloe wants her to know she’s not shutting down the idea just yet.

“I know it’s a big step forward for us, if you think it’s too soon, I get that too,” Beca sits up, looking down at her.

The sheet that was covering them, slips down revealing Beca’s bare chest and Chloe can’t help but stare, “It is a big step, but I think we’re there.”

The conversation doesn’t go any further because the sound of little feet and excited voices echo through the hallway, sending both Beca and Chloe into action. Chloe knew they should have put clothes back on last night before they went to sleep. Chloe stands up out of bed and Beca is already to the dresser across the room.

Beca tosses Chloe a green t-shirt with the Barden logo on it and a plaid pair of pajama shorts, “It’s easier than finding wherever our clothes went last night.”

“Good thinking,” Chloe tosses the t-shirt over her head and slips the shorts on.

Beca is dressed similarly, sporting a t-shirt with some band on it and a loose-fitting pair of running shorts, “Alright, want to go make some breakfast for the gremlins?”

“As long as it’s pancakes,” Chloe grins.

“Would I dream of serving you anything else?” Beca jokes, heading to the door of her bedroom.

When she opens it, both eager little children are standing on the other side.

“Alright who wants pancakes?” Beca announces and both kids jump up and down excitedly, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

About an hour later, all four of them are sitting out in Beca’s backyard. Four syrupy, very empty plates sit on the table; they couldn’t pass up on the beautiful, sunny morning and eat inside. Chloe watches Amelia and Christopher run around and play on the large swing set towards the back of the yard. She’s so happy they get along so well. Maybe Christopher will be excited at the idea of moving in with Beca and Amelia? Chloe hopes he will, because she knows that this is where she wants to be. She wants to live with Beca, she wants to raise their kids together…and maybe even have a baby of their own. The thought almost scares her, she’s in so deep, but from what she heard yesterday, and what Beca asked her this morning, Beca is right there with her.


	14. Chapter 14

_*4 years ago*_

Beca’s finger hovers tentatively over the download button. Is she really about to do this? She takes a deep breath and touches the button. She’s lonely and an adult, she can do this if she wants. She definitely shouldn’t feel ashamed, especially because it’s so hard to meet people. The tinder icon pops up on her home screen in a matter of moments. Her head pops up from her screen, her cheeks burning. She looks around her completely empty bedroom like someone is going to drop down from the ceiling and catch her in the act of internet dating.

She shakes her head at how ridiculous she’s being, some self-motivation never hurt, “Come on Beca, you’ve got this dude.”

Beca’s never done dating this way, it feels weird. She finally taps the app open and watches as it loads. Dread fills her up to the brim when she realizes she has to upload pictures and write a bio. She’s stupid to not have expected that. Too bad Amy isn’t here. If she was, Beca could hand her phone over and let her create the profile for her. Ok, maybe Amy isn’t the best choice, maybe Emily?

It takes Beca almost an hour to finally put together something she’s ok with. She taps settings, and looks over all the options, distance, age, her eyes stop on preferred gender. It’s set just to show her men right now. Does she want to see women too? The only girl she ever liked was Chloe. She didn’t bring this up to the therapist or Jesse, but she’s been confused by her sexuality. She slides to button over to indicate she wants to see women. Ok, time to actually look at some profiles.

After swiping for a while, Beca is starting to think that tinder might be a _little more casual_ than she thought. Most people seem like they’re here for a quick hook up. Maybe, she shouldn’t have taken advice from Amy on what app to use. But she has matched with a handful of guys _and_ girls already, so she might as well stick it out. Just when she’s about to close the app, a couple message notifications pop up. One from a guy named Brock and one from a girl named Ashleigh. Beca crinkles her nose and raises an eyebrow, what a strange way to spell that name, how didn’t she notice that when she swiped right. She opens the message from Brock first.

_Brock: Hey_

Pretty bland and boring first attempt, but he’s cute. He looks like he has kind eyes from what Beca can tell on his first picture. Beca types a simple message back.

_Beca: Hey, how’s it going?_

She closes that conversation and switches to Ashleigh. She’s pretty cute too, she’s got dirty blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her bio made it seem like she’s a fun person.

_A: Your name should be google, because you’re everything I’ve been looking for._

Huh, she’s forward and into cheesy pickup lines. Beca tries her best to thing of a comeback to the one liner.

_B: Glad you found what you were searching for. Is there anything else google can help you find?_

Beca cringes as she hits send, but this is the game this girl is playing. Beca can play along. Between the two of them she’s definitely more intrigued by cheesy pickup line girl. Brock wasn’t very creative at all. She’ll have to see where the conversation takes them.

Beca double checks her appearance in the mirror one more time before grabbing her keys and purse. She kept her hair down, nice and simple. It’s just dinner, maybe drinks, so she kept it casual and is wearing a nicer pair of jeans and a loose-fitting blouse. Beca heads into the kitchen where Emily is making herself a pizza, her 2-year-old daughter sitting at the table scribbling madly away at a coloring book, with a bright pink crayon.

“Ok I’m heading out,” Beca motions in the direction of the door to the garage, “thanks so much for watching her tonight Em.”

The bubbly brunette smiles and looks up from the dough she’s rolling out, “No problem! You know I love hanging out with my niece.”

Beca walks over to Amelia and kisses the top of her head, “See you later peanut, be good for your Auntie Em.”

She looks up at Beca with bright eyes, flinging her prized crayon up into her mother’s face, “Buh bye mommy!”

“Good luck Becs, he’s going to love you!” Emily says a little too optimistically as Beca walks out the door.

Beca pulls up to the restaurant they had agreed on, her nerves already getting the better of her. Maybe this was a dumb idea? What if he’s some crazy kidnapping serial killer? She finally pushes herself out of her car and into the front door. A few tables deep into the restaurant she can already see him sitting and waiting for her. Beca quickly bypasses the hostess station and walks up to the table where her date is waiting.

“Brock?” Beca questions, even though she’s positive it’s him.

Brock stays sitting, looking up and down Beca’s body. She sighs, red flags already popping up. This is going to be a long night.

“Yup, and you’re Beca?” he asks after shamelessly checking her out.

Beca nods and takes a seat across from him. There’s an awkward silence as they survey each other. Brock isn’t a bad looking guy by any stretch of the imagination, he’s all chiseled lines and hard muscle, like he spends a little too much time at the gym.

So, Brock isn’t too bad at holding a conversation, if they’re talking about him. Where he works, how much he works out, his handful of amateur surfing trophies; Beca’s surprised his head fit in the door. She sighs in relief when their food arrives, maybe it will shut him up for a while. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t.

“So Beca,” he sets his fork down with finality on his plate, “you work in music?”

Beca’s eyebrows actually raise in shock that he’s asking about her, “Uh yea, I’m a music producer, singer too actually. My first album is going to be dropping soon.”

His eyes light up, “Oh yea, I think I heard one of your songs...you’re that Beca, Beca Mitchell. The songs you’ve released so far are pretty dope.”

“Thanks, glad you like them,” Beca smiles at the comment.

“So, you’re like rich and all that?” Brock smirks.

Beca sighs, “Well I guess I’m not poor.”

“Dope,” a shit eating grin spreads across his face, “so you want to go back to my place…or your place?”

There’s no way Beca is going anywhere else with this egotistical idiot, “Well, actually my two-year-old daughter is at home waiting for me. So, I think I’ll pass.”

Fear flashes over Brock’s face, he practically chokes on his sip of water, “You’ve got a kid?”

Beca nods, “Don’t worry about having to deal with that, I don’t think we’re going to be doing this again.”

The second Beca steps back into her house, Emily is all over her.

“How did it go?” she jumps up and down excitedly.

Beca just shakes her head, “Not good.”

“That’s all I get, not good?” Emily looks disappointed at the lack of detail.

“Ok, well he was super self-centered, he only seemed to care about my money and was terrified the second I mentioned having a kid,” Beca shrugs.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” she looks genuinely sad for Beca’s first failed attempt, “well you going to try again?”

“I suppose.”

She does try again. This time with Ashleigh. It’s her first real date with a girl, she’s excited but not holding out too much hope after the last shit show. She leaves her house with another string of well wishes from Emily, insisting this time will go better. Beca suggested they meet at the same restaurant she met Brock at. It’s close to home and relatively cheap if it’s a bust.

Beca gets there first and gets a table, waiting for the other girl to show up. She taps her fingers nervously on the table. What if she doesn’t show?

After a nerve racking ten minutes, Ashleigh finally walks up to the table she’s sitting at, “Hi! Beca?”

Beca smiles warmly and stands up to greet the other girl, “That’s me, nice to meet you, well meet you in person.”

“It is,” Ashleigh blushes, “sorry, it’s just you’re a lot prettier in person.”

“Oh wow, thank you,” Beca’s own cheeks heat up at the compliment, “you’re very pretty too.”

Ashleigh seems a little too nervous for a random tinder date, but maybe it’s been a long time for her too. They seem to be conversing easily. Unlike her last date, Ashleigh also is very interested in asking Beca about her life. She gushes at the mention of Amelia and doesn’t seem scared off at all. Beca’s starting to think she might have gotten lucky this time. Except she doesn’t ever really want to talk about herself, even when Beca tries asking. What is she hiding?

Just when they are almost done eating, Ashleigh looks over at Beca nervously, “Ok, so I have a confession.”

Beca doesn’t like where this is going, “Ok...”

“So, I’m actually a really big fan of yours,” she looks down sheepishly at her plate, “I just happened to find you on tinder and I couldn’t believe it…then when I matched with you _and_ you messaged me back…I couldn’t believe my luck. I hope it’s not weird. I really _really_ like you.”

Beca groans, but not loudly enough for the other girl to hear. It’s too bad, Ashleigh seemed like she had a lot of potential, but Beca can’t date a crazy fan. How is she supposed to know if this girl actually likes her or she’s just starstruck and obsessed?

“I’m flattered Ashleigh,” Beca has to do this carefully, “and I’m really glad to know I have fans, but we can’t do this.”

Disappointment is plastered all over Ashleigh’s face, “I understand, I kind of figured that would happen if I told you.”

“I really enjoyed talking with you though, I hope you won’t hate me now?” Beca really doesn’t want to lose any of the small base of fans she’s slowly been gaining.

She shakes her head, “Of course I won’t hate you. I still love you and your music.”

They sit in awkward silence until the waitress comes over with the bill. Beca automatically reaches for it. Ashleigh moves to dig into her purse for money.

“Hey, no need. I’ve got the bill,” Beca puts out a hand to stop her.

Beca comes home to an eager Emily once again. She’s in her face, bouncing with excitement before she can even breath.

“So!?”

Beca flings her purse down onto the floor and looks at the younger girl exasperatedly, “You’re going to love this one.”

On her third date, she doesn’t even make it all the way through the meal. The guy is clearly only trying to get into her pants and Beca’s looking for more than that. The next two dates don’t go as horribly. Both girls are genuinely nice people, but they just don’t click. There’s got to be an easier way to do this. Maybe she should try a different app? Emily keeps urging her to continue but she’s not sure she should. She’s just destined to be alone, pining after a girl she doesn’t even talk to anymore. Maybe what she needs to do is join the masses, maybe a hook up or two wouldn’t be too bad?

She decides to do it the old-fashioned way this time, which is how she finds herself at one of LA’s hottest gay bars on a Friday night. Jesse came to pick up Amelia earlier, so she’s free to bring any conquest of hers home. She’s not sure what drew her to the gay bar right away. Maybe it’s the curiosity of it all. She’s never been with a woman and the idea makes her skin tingle.

She shakily brings her drink to her lips, taking a long sip. It’s a busy night and there are plenty of very good-looking women here. She spins around on her bar stool and locks eyes with a tall red head. If you squint, you could mistake her for a certain ex-best friend of hers. Of course, that’s who Beca would spot first. The red head stares back at her like she’s checking her out. The gaze almost makes her uncomfortable, but in a good way. Beca turns back around and takes another drink. After a moment or two, she senses someone sliding onto the stool next to her. She turns to look and to her surprise, it’s the red head.

“Can I buy you a drink?” the mystery woman asks, her voice is thick and velvety and she’s looking at Beca like she’s the best thing she’s seen all week.

Now that they’re closer, Beca looks at her appreciatively. She’s got bright green eyes and orangish-red hair, her smile is sweet but there’s a hint of something else behind it. She’s hot and she’s offering Beca a drink and she’s not sure she has the power to say no, “I would love a drink.”

The woman waves the bartender over, “Get her another cosmo and I’ll take a martini, dry.”

Beca looks at her empty glass and back at the woman, “How did you know what I was drinking?”

“I’m a very observant person,” she says sweetly, lightly touching Beca’s arm.

It feels like fire where her hand lies, “And who do I get to thank for my drink?”

“I’m Jessie,” before she can say anything else, Beca starts to laugh.

She seriously found the one person in this bar, who A) looks kind of like Chloe and B) has the same name as her ex-husband. The irony is too much for her to hold back the loud belly, rolling laughter.

Jessie looks at her with a frown, “Is there something funny about my name?”

Beca manages to stop laughing to explain to the poor girl next to her, “I’m sorry, it’s just that is my ex-husband’s name and I just got divorced a little over a year ago, so this is kind of new for me and of course your name would be Jessie and now I’m rambling and you are definitely going to walk away…”

The red head looks intrigued instead of scared off and seems to recover from her anger, “Ok, that’s pretty ironic. I would have laughed too.”

“You aren’t going to run as far away from this hot mess as you can?” Beca is confused by her quick and easy response.

She shakes her head, and throws a wink in Beca’s direction, “How could I run away when I don’t even know your name? I’ve got to have a name to go with the crazy story.”

Ok so she’s really going to be cool about this, “It’s Beca.”

“Well Beca,” she takes a sip of her martini before continuing, “sounds like you really need that drink.”

About fifteen minutes later, Beca finds herself in the middle of the dancefloor. Jessie’s behind her, her hands gripped tightly onto Beca’s hips as she grinds into the taller woman. It’s unlike Beca to be so forward with a stranger, maybe it’s the alcohol coursing through her veins or how attractive the woman behind her is. But she grinds with purpose into Jessie and she seems to be loving it. After a few more moments, Beca spins around and grips Jessies shoulders, pressing them impossibly close together as they dance. Green eyes pierce her own as move against each other, eventually dropping down to her lips and Beca knows what she’s thinking. Beca lets her own gaze fall to the other woman’s mouth, and their faces drift closer and closer together. Jessie finally closes the gap, connecting their lips in a dizzying kiss. The world seems to slow down around them as the kiss continues at its frenzied pace. This isn’t the first time Beca’s kissed another girl, there had been a few drunken, stupid games with the Bellas that had ended in Beca getting kissed by one of them. This is for real though and Beca’s floored. She’s surprised how just kissing is turning her on more than she’d like to admit. Jessie pulls away from the kiss, breathing hard.

Her cheeks are red and her eyes wild, “You want to get out of here?”

Beca nods quickly, “Definitely.”

Everything after that is a blur. She barely remembers driving them back to her house or how they made it into her bedroom. Before she knows it, both of them are naked and Beca is writhing underneath the red head above her. Jessie’s knee is pressed up into Beca’s core and she shamelessly grinds against it, seeking any kind of relief she can. She’s so impossibly turned on, every nerve ending in her body feels like a live wire. Jessie’s playing her like a musician would a finely tuned instrument, continuously brining her to the edge before retreating. Beca can’t ever remember sex feeling this good.

“Please,” Beca whimpers, feeling desperate for the other woman to finally touch her properly.

Jessie looks up from Beca’s chest where her mouth was previously attached, her green eyes filled with fire, “Please what Beca?”

“Touch me,” Beca moans, shifting her hips anxiously against the other woman.

“Touch you where?” Jessie moans into her lips before kissing her roughly, still not giving up the teasing.

Beca can’t take it and grabs the red head’s hand, sliding it down her body and into wet heat. Jessie moans into their kiss and starts to move her fingers against Beca. She moves away from Beca’s mouth to start trailing kisses down her body. Beca is shaking with anticipation for what’s to come. When Jessie’s mouth finally makes contact with her dripping center, Beca cries out. It doesn’t take long before she’s seeing stars and shaking with pleasure.

“Oh my god,” Beca breathes, finally coming down from her high.

Jessie makes her way back up to Beca, and gives her a wet kiss, “That convince you to switch teams Mitchell?”

Beca just growls and flips them over, eager to return the favor.

*******************************************************************

Chloe looks intently at her computer screen, carefully studying the scans from the sick golden retriever she saw earlier. The sound of a knock at her door, breaks her intense concentration and practically sends her through the roof.

“Come in,” she calls shakily, heart hammering from the scare.

The door to her office swings open, and her colleague and fellow vet, Josh Peterson walks in. He’s pretty fresh out of school, much like Chloe, he only has a year on her. They talk a lot, bouncing ideas and cases off each other. It helps to have someone who gets where she’s at. Lately though, he’s been getting a little flirty with Chloe. She’s not sure how she feels about it. There’s not really any firm rule against dating co-workers but it feels weird.

“Hey Chloe,” he greets her casually.

Chloe sits up straighter, still somewhat hunched over from her careful observation, “Hey Josh, what’s up?”

“So…” he wanders further into her office before he’s standing in front of her desk, “I was wondering if maybe you would like to get dinner with me tonight?”

Chloe can’t help the surprise that is clear on her face, she should have seen it coming with all the flirting, “Like a date?”

He nods, “I was hoping.”

She takes a moment to think, Stacie would tell her to go for it, she’s been a little pushy to get Chloe back into the dating world lately. Chloe’s still not sure, Christopher is barely two. Does she really want to take her time away from her rapidly growing child to date? But maybe it would be good for her to dip her toe back into the pool? One date can’t hurt.

“Ok, sure that would be nice,” she finally answers, and he looks relieved after the long pause.

“Great, I’ll pick you up at 7?”

“Yea sounds good,” Chloe smiles, “I’ll text you my address.”

“Great, I’ll see you later then,” Josh heads out the door, an obvious bounce to his step.

Josh is nice, he’s not bad looking, he loves animals just as much as she does, on paper he looks great. Chloe can’t put her finger on why she isn’t more excited. In the back of her head, she has a feeling she knows the reason. She hasn’t even tried to date anyone since Chicago. The pain of his death still feels fresh three years later. He would want her to move on though, she knows it. It just feels weird.

The second Stacie found out about her date she was bursting with excitement. Chloe didn’t even have to ask her if she could watch Christopher, she was offering before the question was even out of her mouth. The excitement honestly didn’t ever end. Stacie hovered over Chloe anxiously as she got ready, giving her suggestions on her outfit and makeup. Aubrey had told Stacie to giver her some space, but the leggy brunette just wasn’t having that. Now, it’s about five minutes to seven and all three women stand anxiously in the living room of their house waiting.

The doorbell rings after a couple more minutes and Stacie squeals, “He’s here!”

Chloe turns to glare at her before walking over to the door, “Please don’t be weird.”

“I swear, no weirdness,” Stacie says a little too animatedly.

Chloe opens to door to a nervous looking Josh, holding a bouquet of flowers, “Hi Chloe.”

“Oh my god he brought her flowers,” she can hear Stacie coo behind her.

“Hey Josh,” she smiles brightly at the romantic offering.

He hands her the bouquet, “These are for you.”

“Thanks, they’re beautiful. I’m just going to put these in water quick before we leave,” Chloe turns to go grab a vase but Stacie is right behind her.

“No, you just get going with tall, dark and handsome there,” Stacie grabs the flowers from her, “I’ll take care of these.”

“Ok, I guess we can get going then,” Chloe chirps and the two head out the front door.

“You look really nice,” Josh says as they head to his car.

“Thanks,” Chloe replies, quick to add a compliment of her own, “you look really good too.”

She had gone with a green dress, not too fancy but still showed off her figure nicely and left her hair down in soft red curls.

They get in the car and head towards the restaurant. Josh moves his hand to turn on the radio, a familiar voice fills the small space. Chloe’s face lights up and the screams excitedly. Josh looks at her worriedly.

“Turn it up,” she says excitedly.

Josh complies, turning the volume up, still confused by the reaction, “You a big Beca Mitchell fan or something?”

“Uh you could say that,” Chloe can’t wipe the smile off her face, “she is…well was my best friend. We went to college together, then I lived with her for three years in Brooklyn. She was a really important person to me.”

“Oh wow,” Josh seems surprised, “that’s really cool. If you don’t mind me asking, what happened that you aren’t friends anymore?”

Chloe sighs, she hasn’t really brought this up in a long time, “Um yea it’s ok. It started back when my boyfriend proposed to me. I was still living in Brooklyn and she had moved out to LA. I had asked her to be my maid of honor. She said yes then a week later she texted me and said she wouldn’t do it and that she wasn’t even coming to the wedding. We fought and then she never talked to me again. I texted and called her nonstop for a couple months before I gave up. I haven’t heard from her since.”

Josh doesn’t seem to be taken back by the onslaught of information, “That’s too bad. I wonder what made her bail?”

Chloe shrugs, “Who knows. I don’t think I’ll ever be sure.”

“Did she not like the boyfriend?” he asks curiously.

“I don’t think she did.”

They sit in silence for another moment or two, she can sense Josh wants to ask something else.

“What happened to the boyfriend?” he asks, “You never talk about having a husband, I know you have a kid, but I never heard about him.”

“He died in a car crash three years ago,” Chloe says plainly.

“Chloe, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up,” he looks over at her worried he upset her.

“It’s ok,” Chloe replies quietly, who knew this date was going to bring up so many sore subjects.

Shockingly, the one that weighs heavier on her is Beca. It still hurts that they left off on such a bad note. Chloe still wishes she had Beca in her life, she thinks there may even be a small part of her that still loves Beca.

They finally get to the restaurant after what seems like years. The date goes well for the most part. They talk about work for a while, quickly switching to talking more out about each other. Chloe tries to listen and respond but she can’t shake Beca from her mind. She wonders how she’s doing, Emily told her about the divorce. She wonders how her daughter is doing and what she’s like.

“Chloe…?” she’s snapped from her thoughts; Josh must have noticed she’s been somewhere else.

“Sorry, Josh,” she shakes her head.

“It’s ok,” the worried look from the car is back, “you seem off, are you sure I didn’t upset you earlier?”

“No, you’re fine,” Chloe figures honesty is the best approach here or he’s going to think he fucked up, “I just have been thinking about Beca, I’m sorry.”

“Oh,” he replies softly, probably unsure what to say.

“There’s something I didn’t tell you about that,” Chloe sighs, “I loved Beca.”

“ _Oh,”_ he seems to be a broken record, “so… I’m guessing we’re not talking platonic love here?”

Chloe shakes her head, “No, I loved her for a long time. She just never seemed to feel the same.”

Josh stares down at his half empty plate for a moment or two, “Do you still love her?”

“I think there’s a part of me that always will,” she says truthfully.

Josh really is a good guy. He spends the rest of their date listening to Chloe ramble on about Beca. He gives her encouraging comments and lets her talk until she’s blue in the face. He didn’t deserve to play therapist tonight. Chloe has a sinking feeling this is going to be their last date.

After dinner Josh drives Chloe home, before she gets out of the car and heads back inside, he stops her.

“Wait Chloe,” he grabs her arm, “if I didn’t say this, I’d be doing you a disservice.”

Chloe settles back down in the passenger seat, “Ok.”

“I like you Chloe, I do, but it’s clear that you still have feelings for Beca. It would be unfair of me to stop you from trying, you should try Chloe. Call her. See where things go,” he really is too good for her, “don’t lose out on your chance, you’ll regret it.”

“You are a really good man Josh,” she gets out of the car and looks back down at him one more time, “thank you for tonight.”

“See you at work,” he says before Chloe shuts the door.

He drives away and Chloe stays outside for a moment, letting the cool night air calm her. Josh wasn’t wrong, she’s got a lot of unresolved feelings for Beca. She’s not sure she can try. She really doesn’t need to put herself through that rejection again. She’s going to have to work harder at burying any remnants of her love for Beca if she ever wants to move on.


	15. Chapter 15

Chloe shakes with excitement and nerves as she shoves the last cardboard box into the back of the moving truck. Chloe, Beca, Aubrey and Stacie have been loading the back of the large truck with her and Christopher’s belongings all morning. Emily had offered to take both kids to the park and out for lunch while the four women worked, both kids running around definitely would have slowed down the process.

Beca walks out the front door with one more small box in her hands, “We forgot this one, it was sitting in the kitchen.”

“Thanks babe,” Chloe watches her girlfriend slide the little box into a gap towards the back of the truck.

Beca turns around to face her, she’s shiny with sweat, her thin tank top turning more and more transparent as the day goes on, “I’m starving, and I feel disgusting.”

Chloe doesn’t argue that one, her own stomach growling, “Ok, I guess I am too. Can we grab something on the way over to your, I mean our house?”

“Of course, we can get some food on the way to _our_ house,” Beca’s megawatt smile could blind someone, “I love it when you call it our house.”

Chloe steps closer to Beca, wrapping her arms tightly around her sweaty frame, “I love you and I love that we’re doing this.”

“And I love you, even though you are like really sweaty and gross dude,” Beca tries to squirm out of her embrace.

“Not getting away so easy there Becs,” Chloe giggles, placing a wet kiss on her cheek, even though she was aiming for her lips.

“Quit being gross,” both of them turn their heads at the sound of Stacie’s voice, “we ready to get this show on the road? I’ve been waiting to get rid of Beale for years.”

Chloe sticks her tongue out at Stacie, “You loved living with me.”

Aubrey appears behind her, holding one last box they missed, “Ignore her Chlo. I’m going to miss you.”

Aubrey crams the actual last box in the back and closes the back of the truck. Chloe’s mood shifts at Aubrey’s sentiment, because as excited as she is, she has mixed feelings about leaving her best friends. Living here with Aubrey and Stacie, Chloe has had some of the best and worst times in her life. Her pregnancy, the first five years of her son’s life, the grieving and moving on after Chicago’s death, graduating vet school and getting her first job, there’s a lot of memories in that house. Aubrey and Stacie have been there for her through it all, cheering her on and building her back up again when she needed it. Chloe is more than ready to start this new chapter with Beca, but she can’t help feeling a little sad about closing the old one.

Chloe walks over to Aubrey and pulls her into a tight hug, “I love you Bree. Thank you so much for everything.”

Aubrey hugs her back just as tight, “I love you too Chlo. You don’t have to thank me, that’s what best friends are for.”

Chloe doesn’t want to cry today, so she pulls away from Aubrey and doesn’t say anymore, even though she could say so much more.

“Ok, so who’s driving the moving truck of doom?” Beca asks, holding up the keys, “Personally I don’t think someone as small as me should do it.”

Chloe laughs, she can always count on her girlfriend for the comic relief, “Sounds like you just nominated yourself there Becs.”

“I’ll drive, I wouldn’t want you driving the thing into a ditch because you’re too short,” Aubrey says sarcastically, walking over to grab the keys from Beca.

“Why didn’t we hire a moving service again?” Stacie asks confused.

“Because I didn’t think Chloe had that much stuff,” Beca rolls her eyes, “which I’m quickly finding out was my dumbest assumption ever.”

Aubrey and Chloe both laugh, and Aubrey slaps a hand on Beca’s back, “Oh Beca, you really have a lot to learn yet.”

The odd caravan finally makes it the Beca’s about twenty minutes later. Chloe and Beca drove together and stopped to get everyone some taco bell, per Chloe’s request. Aubrey drove the moving truck and Stacie followed behind in her car. When Beca finally pulls into the driveway, Chloe can see that everyone has beat them there, even Emily and the kids.

“Hey you brought tacos!” Stacie cheers the second Chloe steps out of the car with the bag of fast food, “My savior!”

“Hope you guys weren’t waiting too long,” Beca says finally joining them all outside the car.

Aubrey shakes her head, “Just got here.”

“Well let’s go inside and eat before we tackle the truck,” Chloe says, already blazing a trail to the front door, her stomach very much controlling her.

They manage to get inside and eat most of their food before the kids discover their arrival and start excitedly telling them all about their morning with Emily. Christopher jumps up and down excitedly in front of Chloe, talking about going down the curly slide at the park and eating chicken nuggets.

“And I got a boo boo mommy,” he lifts his arm to reveal a paw patrol band aid on his elbow, “Auntie Emily kissed it better though.”

Amelia dashes between Chloe and her son, hands on her hips, she couldn’t have looked more like Beca in the moment, “I told him not to jump from the top of the monkey bars!”

Chloe giggles at Amelia’s reaction to the situation, “Thank you Amelia.”

“Sounds like Christopher got quite a bit of his mom’s strong-willed impulsiveness,” Beca chides, as she shoves the last bit of taco in her mouth.

Emily walks into the kitchen where they are all gathered, presumably chasing after the energetic children, “To be fair, I turned around for two seconds and he was on the ground! I was watching him, I swear Chloe!”

“Em, it’s ok. He’s still in one piece, I don’t care. It’s not like he’s never gotten hurt on my watch before,” Christopher grabs Chloe’s legs and tries hoisting himself upward and she gladly pulls him up into her lap, “and I’d say for jumping off the monkey bars, one cut on his elbow is pretty good.”

“I don’t know how you two do it…” Emily looks between Beca and Chloe, a tired look on her usually blissfully happy face, “I can handle one of them, but two at the same time.”

“Practice,” Beca says simply, “and it helps when there are two adults.”

Chloe looks at the younger woman sympathetically, “Do you want one of use to watch the kids for the rest of the afternoon? You can help unload the truck?”

Emily shakes her head, “No it’s ok, it’ll be easier here, they have toys and things to play with.”

“That’s what you think,” Stacie snorts, earning a glare from the three other women.

Chloe lifts Christopher out of her lap and stands up, “Alright buddy, why don’t you and Amelia go play, while mommy and your aunties move our stuff in.”

“Can we play outside?” he asks excitedly.

Chloe’s about to answer when Emily waves her hand at the two little fountains of energy, “Come on guys, let’s go outside.”

Her and Beca are definitely going to owe the poor girl one when this is over. After the kids are herded outside, the four of them get back to work.

After about an hour of hard work, Chloe is standing in the back of the moving truck, all that’s left is the furniture. All of the boxes have been deposited to the correct spots in the house. She’s just about to go get one of the girls to help her with a Christopher’s mattress, when a car pulls into the expansive driveway. When it gets closer, she can see it’s Jesse. In the insanity of moving Chloe into the house, they both seemed to have forgotten that Jesse picks up Amelia today. Chloe hops out of the back as Jesse parks and gets out.

“Hey Jesse,” she greets him kindly.

He scans the situation, his eyes falling to the almost empty moving truck and Chloe’s sweaty, haggard appearance, “Hey Chloe, what’s going on here.”

Chloe quirks an eyebrow, surely Beca told him, maybe he forgot that was today, “I’m moving my stuff in today?”

The pieces seem to fall together and Jesse’s eyebrows furrow, a perturbed look on his face, “Oh, you’re moving in with Beca, where is she by the way?”

“She’s inside, do you want me to go get Amelia?” Chloe offers, having to bite her tongue so she doesn’t say something stupid.

For some reason Jesse really has something against her still and she’s sure he’s not happy with the situation. Beca has some explaining to do though, it’s apparent Jesse had no clue what was going on. Why wouldn’t Beca tell him? She knows how he gets about things.

“No, that’s ok. I’m going to go in and talk to Beca, I’ll get her while I’m in there,” he walks towards the front door.

Just as he’s about to reach the door, Beca walks out, looking surprised when she sees Jesse standing there, “Oh god, Jess, I forgot about Amelia. I’ll go grab her.”

“Wait,” he holds out a hand to stop her.

She spins back around to face him, “What?”

“Where you ever going to tell me about this?” he gestures wildly around him, at the truck, the house and Chloe.

Beca looks annoyed now, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think I needed your permission to have my girlfriend move in with me. Last time I checked you weren’t a part of my relationship.”

“Jesus Beca,” he rubs his forehead exasperatedly, “I don’t care what you and Chloe do, I only care when it affects my daughter. Don’t you think it’s important to update me when her living arrangements change so drastically?”

“How are her living arrangements changing drastically Jesse?” Beca quips back.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because she’s going to have another child around all the time, the attention she gets now will be divided. Plus, she essentially has another person parenting her,” he points at Chloe, “don’t you think that’s kind of a big deal?”

Chloe feels like she should step in, this is kind of about her. Her feet stay cemented to the ground she’s on though, getting between two bitter divorcees maybe isn’t the best plan.

“Jesse, seriously why do I feel like this is more about the fact that it’s Chloe,” Beca snaps, “tell me, if it was someone else would you care as much?”

Jesse rolls his eyes and head, “Not this again Beca, I don’t care that you are in a relationship with her. I’m thrilled because apparently it’s all you could think about for our whole marriage!”

“Oh my god dude! Jesse, our marriage is over! I’m so sorry I scarred you so badly, but can you please leave our daughter out of your own issues!”

To the relief of everyone, the sound of a sharp whistle rips through the air. Beca and Jesse both turn around to face Aubrey, who has appeared in the doorway.

“Lord knows I do not want to get in the middle of this,” she motions with her arms at the two, “but can you please leave it be, considering your daughter is right inside and can probably hear both of you with how loud you’re being! Do you want that?”

Chloe sighs in relief, thank god for bossy, assertive Aubrey. Both Jesse and Beca look at her with blank faces, they shake their heads no in unison.

“Now this is so not my issue,” Aubrey continues, “but you two need to figure your shit out for the sake of everybody involved in this.”

Aubrey turns around to leave, slamming the front door as she goes. Chloe shuffles awkwardly in place, she should have ran inside and away from this while she had the chance.

Beca takes a deep breath, “Jesse I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but Chloe is here to stay. She’s going to be a part of Amelia’s life. I’m going to be a part of Christopher’s life. We’re a family, get over it.”

Chloe is angry at Beca right now, for a couple different reasons but she can’t help the way her heart soars when Beca says they are a family.

“I shouldn’t have brought up our marriage again,” Jesse admits, “but can you please keep me updated on this kind of stuff? I just want to know what’s going on in Amelia’s life, because yea this is about you and Chloe, but it affects her.”

Beca nods stiffly, “Yea, I will. I’ll go get Amelia.”

Beca turns to go into the house and Chloe runs after her. Beca is up the stairs before Chloe can catch up with her. Chloe doesn’t follow her up but stays at the bottom of the stairs, processing the last five minutes. Beca comes back down in a few minutes, Amelia following behind with a backpack and duffel bag in hand.

“Ok, see you next week kiddo,” Beca pulls her into a hug.

“Bye mommy,” she hugs Beca back, but then pulls away and collides into Chloe.

She’s a little caught by surprise, but gladly hugs the little girl back.

“Bye Chloe,” she says sweetly, before letting go of her.

Beca opens the front door back up and watches Amelia follow Jesse back to his car. She stands and watches until Jesse’s car is a black dot in the distance.

The rest of the day goes relatively smoothly. They get the rest of the furniture and remaining boxes from the moving truck. Aubrey and Stacie stay until things are mostly together, but leave a little before six, both of them exhausted and sweaty. Chloe avoids really talking to Beca for most of the day. She knows when she finally does, it’s not going to be pretty. After Chloe, Beca and Christopher eat dinner, Chloe works with Christopher to set up his room how he wants it. Beca had taken the guest room and cleared it out for him. It’s a good sized room and Christopher has fun putting things away and setting them up. Chloe is happy that he seems to be adjusting well. When she had asked him about moving a few weeks ago, he had been over the moon. Chloe made sure he knew what it really meant, but even after explaining it he was excited. It’s almost ten when they finally finish, and Christopher all but collapses from the exhaustion and excitement of the big day. It doesn’t take much to get him in bed and to cooperate.

Chloe finally heads back downstairs and finds Beca in the living room, beer in hand and headphones over her ears. She plops down next to her, stirring Beca out of her little world.

She slips her headphones around her neck and looks at Chloe, “Did he get everything set up?”

“Yea, I think so. There’s still some stuff to unpack, but he’s happy,” Chloe yawns, suddenly very tired, the couch underneath her swallowing her up into a sleepy comfort.

“That’s good,” Beca smiles, “I’m glad you’re both here.”

Chloe just nods, “Yea.”

“Is there something wrong Chlo,” Beca looks at her concerned, “you haven’t been talking much this afternoon.”

Chloe pushes herself up out of the comfort of the sofa, so she can think properly, “Why didn’t you tell Jesse about me moving in?”

“Why should I have, it’s not his deal,” Beca sips the last of her beer from the bottle and sets in down on the coffee table.

“Because you know how he gets about this stuff Becs,” Chloe raises her voice a little, the previous anger creeping back into her tone, “do you know what kind of awkward situation it puts me in?”

“Chloe, he doesn’t matter!” Beca says loudly, “I don’t owe him an explanation for what we do.”

“I think it does matter! If it makes our lives a little bit easier than it matters,” Chloe is almost yelling now, but holds back so she doesn’t disturb the sleeping child upstairs.

They’re both standing now, gesturing in the air angrily, “It’s our life Chloe, not his!”

“Yea but our life includes his daughter!” Chloe doesn’t know how Beca can’t see this, “When you have a kid with someone, you’re kind of tied to them forever. What I wouldn’t give to have Christopher’s father be a part of his life! So try and be grateful that Amelia has such an attentive concerned father, and don’t you dare misconstrue that Beca, because I would choose you in any situation, in any lifetime, over and over again.”

Chloe storms off before Beca can say another word. Angry tears roll down her face, she hates that she’s an angry crier. Chloe heads into her and Beca’s bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She still feels gross and sweaty from the day’s activities, so she strips her clothes off, not caring where they land, and heads into the en suite bathroom for a shower. She makes sure the water is scalding, she’s sure her skin will be red when she’s done. The hot water feels good, it calms her down a little. After a few moments of solitude in the shower, she hears the door to the bathroom opening.

“Chlo,” Beca says softly.

Chloe can see her figure through the frosted glass of the large shower.

“Chloe, I’m sorry,” Beca sounds apologetic, “you’re right and I’m so sorry for putting you in an awkward place.”

Chloe sighs and opens the door slightly, poking her head out into the cool air, “It’s ok.”

“And I know I’m not his father, but I really hope I can be someone important for Christopher,” she looks down at her hands awkwardly, “I love him like my own Chlo.”

Chloe’s heart melts at the brunette’s words, “I know, and I love that you love him so much, he’s so lucky to have you and so am I.”

“So, are we ok?” Beca asks carefully.

Chloe nods, and reaches out for Beca’s arm, pulling her towards the shower, “Join me?”

Beca smiles, her eyes lighting up as she strips out of her clothes and steps into the hot steamy space. Chloe immediately pulls her into a kiss, their lips move hungrily against each other’s. They stumble backwards until Chloe is pressed against the cool tile. The kiss continues to get progressively getting hotter and needier with every movement. Beca moves her lips from Chloe’s and she whines at the loss of contact, until Beca’s lips travel down her neck and onto her collar bone. Chloe’s hands grip at her back as she sucks particularly hard right above her right breast, an airy moan escapes Chloe’s lips, she knows she’ll have a bright mark there. Beca looks down at her handiwork and smirks, then moves to kiss Chloe again. Beca’s left hand, which is settled firmly on Chloe’s hip, slides up until it is cupping her breast, her thumb rubbing over taut, pebbled flesh. Chloe groans into Beca’s mouth at the sensation, her hips surging forward. She’s already embarrassingly turned on for how long this has been going on.

Beca pulls away slightly, whispering against Chloe’s lips, “Let me apologize again.”

Beca’s hand slides from her breast down her stomach, and even lower, sliding a finger lightly through her folds. Chloe whimpers, hips bucking again at the feather light contact.

“Damn, so wet already,” Beca murmurs, kissing Chloe hard before dropping down to her knees.

Beca looks up from between her legs with smoldering eyes, before running her tongue in a broad stroke through her growing arousal. Chloe moans completely unrestrained as Beca repeats the motion a few times, before settling on her aching clit. Her legs wobbly underneath her, arms flying out to the side, grasping at the slippery tile to hold herself steady. Beca’s hands are grasping firmly to her backside, but one snakes around from its spot to tease her entrance.

“Oh baby, please,” Chloe pleads, needing to feel Beca inside her.

Beca easily sinks a finger into her and Chloe’s knees wobble, sinking down onto Beca’s face. She doesn’t seem phased, still working Chloe’s clit with her tongue, pumping a finger in and out of her. Beca slides a second finger into her and she groans, riding Beca’s even harder. Chloe grasps at the slippery tile, she feels like she could tumble forward at any moment, her orgasm rapidly approaching. After a few more moments, it hits her with such force she’s sure she tumbles forward, screaming Beca’s name. When she finally opens her eyes, breathing hard, she realizes Beca is holding her up against the wall, fingers still inside her.

“Beca,” she whimpers, still coming down from her high, “if that’s how you apologize, we need to fight more often.”

Beca kisses her lightly, laughing, “We don’t have to fight for me to do that.”

“Oh good,” Chloe replies, “because I really don’t like fighting.”


	16. Chapter 16

****

_*4 years ago*_

Beca met up with Jessie a few more times, neither one of them wanted anything serious, much to her relief. After all her failed attempts at dating, she’s come to realize it’s more hassle than it’s worth. No, Beca is more in it for something quick, just a fun night every once in a while. In a way, she’s getting that reckless, fun, sowing her wild oats moment she never had in high school or college. In high school, she was too moody and caught up in the midst of her parent’s divorce. In college, she was with Jesse. After college, she pined after Chloe, until she was back with Jesse. The only person she’s ever really been with has been Jesse. It feels good to get out there and explore all her possibilities. It feels especially good to explore a side of her that’s never gotten to see the light of day, the side that really likes women. Beca has known about her attraction to women for a while, it’s a part of her that has been left relatively untapped, until now.

After her hook up with Jessie, Beca didn’t ever really try with guys again. After having sex with girls, going back to guys is like eating gas station sushi after going to Japan for the real stuff. A whole new world has opened up to her. Which is why every other Friday night, after Jesse picks up Amelia, Beca finds herself at the same gay bar she met Jessie at.

Tonight, Beca has her sights set on a bubbly looking blonde, who has been giving her looks all night. It looks like Beca will have to be the first one to make a move. The girl has been staying close to her group of friends, so Beca waives over the bartender, telling them to send a drink to the blonde from her. The blonde and her friends are sitting at the bar right now, Beca watches intently as the bartender slides the fruity mixed drink in front of her. She looks over at Beca, who smirks over at her. The girl blushes, her friends giggling around her. Her friends give her playful shoves until she gets off her seat and walks over to Beca.

The girl sits down next to her, she looks at Beca nervously, “Thanks for the drink.”

“Of course, I don’t pass up the opportunity when a beautiful woman like you shows up here,” Beca lays the charm on thick.

The girl blushes, “What’s your name?”

“Beca.”

“I’m Rose,” the girl supplies the information before Beca has the chance to ask.

“So Rose…” Beca starts to speak, but is quickly cut off by the blonde.

“Do you want to get out of here?” she blurts out, it’s a complete change from the hard to get act she’s been playing all night.

Beca nods, still somewhat stunned by the question, “Yea let’s go.”

The sound of chainsaw like snoring pulls Beca out of her deep sleep. She rolls over confused, her naked body only covered by a thin sheet. It all comes flashing back at the sight of the girl next to her. Wow, for such a petite girl, Rose sure can snore. The offending noise rings through Beca’s room like a siren. She picks up her phone to check the time, it’s only seven in the morning, far too early to be up yet. Beca doesn’t want to be mean and kick the girl out quite yet, but she also really wants to get some more sleep. She argues with herself for a while, before shoving the blonde hard in an attempt to wake her. The push doesn’t do much besides stop the snoring momentarily, before it continues as loud as before. Beca groans in frustration and starts to shake Rose until she rolls over, eyes opening slowly.

Rose finally comes to fully and looks at Beca with a sleepy face, “Morning.”

“Hey morning,” Beca says curtly, “I’m going to get you an uber, why don’t you get dressed.”

Beca hates being this way, but Rose honestly was annoying in every sense of the word. She was great in the sack, but everything else about her annoyed Beca more than she can even say.

Rose frowns momentarily, “Did I do something?”

“No, you’re fine…um it’s just my daughter will be home soon and well,” Beca lies quickly, Amelia won’t be home until next Saturday.

“Oh ok, I get it,” Rose slides out of bed and roams around the room locating all her clothing.

Beca grabs her phone and gets an uber for Rose, while watching the girl awkwardly pace the room in search of all her things.

“Ok, well thanks for last night,” Rose stands completely dressed at the foot of the bed now, “can I call you?”

Beca bites her lip, trying to formulate an answer but comes up dry, “Uh sure.”

Rose hands Beca her phone and Beca types her number into the girl’s contacts. She doesn’t have to answer.

“Bye Beca,” Rose says, taking her phone back and turning to leave the bedroom.

“Do you remember your way out?” Beca asks not wanting to be a _horrible_ host.

She shakes her yes, “I’ll be fine, thanks again!”

Beca waves awkwardly, as soon as Rose is gone she flops back down on the bed, sleep overtaking her almost immediately.

************

Over the next few weeks Beca tears through a good portion of the lesbian population of Los Angeles, ok maybe that’s exaggerating a little, but she’s had her fair share. She’s not sure why she keeps at it, at first it was exhilarating. Now, not so much. It’s a heartless, feelingless cycle that keeps repeating itself. Find a cute girl, charm her into your bed, send her off and never speak again. Beca has closed herself off so much emotionally, that the girl she’s with usually doesn’t know much more about her than her name.

Beca’s friends have also started to notice, she’s not being inconspicuous about it. Last week Emily staged somewhat of an intervention and Beca had essentially told her to fuck off. Ok, maybe she knows it’s starting to be a problem, but what’s so wrong about what she’s doing?

Tori is unlike anything Beca has ever dealt with before. When she walked into the bar that night and spotted the tall, black haired drink of water at her usual place at the bar, heat was already rushing through her. Beca hasn’t really experienced this kind of feral attraction before, except maybe with Chloe, there is no one Beca will ever be more attracted to than Chloe. But, Beca never had sex with Chloe, and as she writhes under Tori, on the brink of her third…maybe fourth orgasm of the night, she still thinks it’s unreal.

Beca breaks her own rules with Tori. She hasn’t been letting people sleep over since the mess with Rose, but she let Tori sleep in her bed all night. Beca’s almost shocked when she wakes up next to creamy pale skin, covered in ink, and jet black hair spilling onto her pillow. Without even realizing it, Beca’s hand rises to Tori’s shoulder, tracing the outline of a red rose on her shoulder. God, it had been a good night. Beca shifts her legs together, already turned on again thinking about it.

Beca finally pulls her hand away and rolls over to grab her phone. She has about five texts from Jesse. Shit, it’s already ten in the morning, he’s going to be here soon with Amelia. How could Beca have forgotten. She starts to panic, flying out of bed to get dressed and make herself look presentable. Beca is completely dressed and is almost out the door when she realizes Tori is still sound asleep in her bed. She cringes and turns back around to go shake the girl awake.

“Tori,” she says firmly, shaking the woman until she opens her eyes groggily.

“Beca, hey,” she says lazily, smirking at her, until her gaze drops down to Beca’s fully dressed form, “you going somewhere, I thought maybe we could have a repeat performance this morning?”

“I really would love to, but you’ve got to get going,” Beca urges in the nicest way possible.

Tori sits up a confused look on her face, “What kind of skeletons are you hiding around here Mitchell?”

“None, no skeletons,” Beca tries to smile nicely, as Tori circles the room gathering her clothes.

“You’re not even going to make me breakfast?” she winks, at least she doesn’t seem to cranky about it, “I think after receiving five earth shattering orgasms last night that I might have at least earned myself some bacon.”

Beca blushes hard, had she really come that many times?

“Sorry Tori, I’ll have to take make it up to you some other time.”

The girl raises an eyebrow, “Oh so there’s going to be a repeat performance after you kick me out of your house?”

Beca’s about to reply when she hears the doorbell. Damnit.

“Oh I see, you’re expecting someone,” Tori says dryly.

“Just stay here for a moment,” Beca says before running out of the bedroom.

Beca races downstairs and hopes she looks at least somewhat presentable. She flings the door open to an excited Amelia and well, not so excited Jesse.

“Momma!” the almost three-year-old bounces up and down excitedly.

“Hey peanut,” Beca almost forgets the situation upstairs as she wraps her arms around her daughter, lifting her into her arms.

“Oh, that is definitely not what I was expecting,” Beca hears Tori’s voice behind her and cringes, “you’ve got a kid, and an ex-something. That is not what I expected at all.”

If looks could kill, Beca would be dead right now with how Jesse is glaring at her, “You’ve got to be kidding me Becs?”

“I can explain,” Beca isn’t sure who she’s saying that to.

At least Amelia is young enough to be blissfully aware, even if she is staring at Tori over Beca’s shoulder, blubbering nonsense about monkeys at the other woman.

“I’m sure you can,” Jesse snaps.

Tori walks by them out the front door, “Dude, at least we can agree on something,” she jokes before walking down the driveway and out of sight.

“Seriously Beca,” Jesse is giving her a look she can’t quite decipher, “this can’t happen again.”

Beca just nods knowingly, “It won’t.”

And it doesn’t happen again. This was the final push Beca needed to stop her wild rampage of hook ups. Dating might be hard and might suck sometimes but at least it’s not this.

************

Ever since her failure of a date with Josh, Chloe hasn’t tried too hard on the whole dating thing. No one else needs to deal with her mess right now. Chloe has a lot to figure out personally after what happened with Josh. When Josh told her that he thinks she’s in love with Beca, it hadn’t been a big surprise. What was a surprise was how apparent it was to someone who doesn’t even know her that well. It’s something that’s been stuck inside her head on a loop. Beca has plagued Chloe’s thoughts for so many years. For six years Chloe pined after her, and still she won’t leave Chloe’s head and heart.

Chloe doesn’t mind being single. She’s able to put a lot of focus on her son this way, she’s not wasting some of the most important years of his life. She was single for six years before Chicago, it’s not like she hasn’t had a long dry spell before. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t get lonely though. Watching Stacie and Aubrey interact makes her heart clench sometimes, wanting that beautiful type of loving relationship for herself.

There is something Chloe does miss quite a bit but thank goodness God gave her hands…and other things to take care of that one. Chloe is especially grateful for the “other things” this morning. She went to bed and woke up on edge, needing relief terribly. Time had been on her side; she woke up a good half an hour before her alarm.

Chloe doesn’t hesitate to roll over in bed and reach into the drawer of her nightstand, pulling out a purple velvet bag holding this morning’s helping hand. She eagerly pushes her shorts down her legs and pulls the toy from its bag. Chloe teases herself a little, running her fingers over her nipples, pinching and twisting lightly. She lets a hand run down from her breast to between her legs, landing on her clit, circling it gently. She bites her lip, holding back a breathy moan that stays at the back of her throat. All the pent-up tension has her already worked up quite a bit, so she grabs the vibrator next to her.

Chloe pushes the button at the end of the purple phallic object, it buzzes to life. Moving the vibrating object between her legs, she lets it land back on her clit. The shock waves of pleasure course through her, her hips lifting off the bed at just the simple touch. She can hear how wet she is as she moves the toy against her.

After a few more moments, Chloe moves the vibrator down to her entrance and pushes it in slowly. She can’t help the quiet whimper that escapes her when it’s fully inside her. Chloe pulls it out and pushes it back in, quickly building up to a nice rhythm. The toy is designed to hit the exact right spot and it sure does, every time she drags it in and out of herself. Her breathing is labored and she’s already quivering, her release just out of reach. Chloe knows what has to be done to finally push her over the edge, she moves her other hand between her legs and presses down on her clit firmly. Her climax hits hard and she has to bite down on her lip to keep from making any noise.

Chloe pulls the vibrator from between her legs, glistening with her juices. Her alarm is about to go off, so she stands up, pulling her shorts up and grabbing the vibrator. She walks to the door of her room, poking her head out to check for anyone else in the hall. The coast is clear, so she heads to the bathroom to clean up her toy and get ready for the day.

About a half an hour later, Chloe heads downstairs, dressed for work. Aubrey and Stacie are both in the kitchen eating breakfast.

“Morning Chlo,” Aubrey greets her chipperly.

Chloe smiles back at her, heading to the coffee maker first, “Morning Bree, morning Stace.”

Stacie gives her a small nod, clearly still waking up.

After brewing some coffee, Chloe checks her phone, it’s about time to get Christopher up and ready for daycare. She’s just about the head upstairs when she hears the pitter patter of little feet running through the house. Chloe almost forgets that he can get up and move around by himself now, ever since she moved him into a toddler bed. He runs into the kitchen, red curls bouncing wildly, it looks like he’s holding something.

Stacie is clearly awake now, because she starts laughing animatedly, “Ugh, Chloe…I think you’re going to want to see what your son found.”

Chloe sighs and looks down at her son, what she sees makes her stomach drop to her feet, a blush rising on her cheeks immediately.

“Mommy! Found new toy!” Christopher announces proudly…waving around Chloe’s purple vibrator.

Aubrey sees it now too and just starts laughing, deep belly rolling laughter.

“Where did you find that?” she asks her three-year-old, trying to hold her anger at bay, he doesn’t know any better.

“Bathroom!” he yells happily, waving the toy around and to Chloe’s utter horror, it’s buzzing along wildly.

She must have forgotten to take it back to her bedroom after her shower. What a dumb stupid, embarrassing mistake.

“Can you give mommy your toy?” she asks kindly, trying to reason with the small child.

He shakes his head no, clinging on to the buzzing toy.

“Christopher, you have to give mommy your toy, it’s not yours,” she says as calmly as possible.

Stacie and Aubrey are both dying of laughter now, only making the heat on Chloe’s face increase.

“Not mine?” he says sadly.

Chloe shakes her head, “Not yours.”

“Ok,” he looks disappointed but hands the toy over to her.

Thank god she has such a cooperative, content little kid. That could have been a lot harder. Chloe quickly shuts the vibrating object off.

“Chloe, you might want to remember to put that type of stuff away,” Stacie says between giggles, her laughter somewhat subsided.

“I mean I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself, but really, Stacie is right,” Aubrey can’t wipe the smirk off her face.

“I hate you both,” Chloe snaps, heading up the stairs, vibrator in hand.

That is NOT how Chloe had seen her morning going. Parenting sure has it’s surprises, but even when things like this happen, Chloe wouldn’t trade it for the world. Who needs a boyfriend or girlfriend when you have a tiny little human that loves you unconditionally?


	17. Chapter 17

It’s been three months since Chloe moved in with Beca. They’ve settled into a good rhythm; it took some time to get there though. Not so much for Chloe and Beca, they’ve lived together before, just this time they’re in a relationship. Some of the happiest times in Beca’s life were living with Chloe, whether it was in the Bella house during college or in their tiny apartment in Brooklyn where they slept squished together on a pull-out sofa bed for almost three years. If you asked her though, this would be the best experience living with Chloe she’s ever had. Nothing comes close to going to sleep and waking up next to the love of her life every morning. Nothing beats making dinner together at night, while the kids play outside on the swing set. Nothing makes Beca happier than raising their kids together as one happy little family. Its sickeningly sweet and domestic, but Beca wouldn’t trade it for the world.

That happiness and family cohesiveness didn’t happen overnight for the kids. The first few days were fun; it was like an extended sleepover of sorts. Then about on day four or five, Beca remembers it clearly, Amelia had come up to her and asked when Christopher was going to go home. Apparently, the little boy had asked Chloe something similar when Beca mentioned it to her girlfriend. The following night, Beca and Chloe sat both kids down for a talk. After some mild confusion and tears, both little kids had understood.

Now Christopher calls Amelia sister and she calls him brother. They genuinely seem happy about the situation and their newfound sibling status.

Chloe has mentioned getting married a few times, in the last couple months. The first time was almost a joke. It was a simple moment, the two curled up on the sofa watching some late-night TV. Chloe flipped past _Say Yes to the Dress_ and off handedly mentioned buying her own dress soon. The fear Beca had assumed would ignite in her at the idea just wasn’t there. Instead, she found herself dreaming of seeing Chloe in a wedding dress promising her undying love to her. They were never serious discussions, but they were serious feelings. Both women have agreed that it seems fast, but they’ve been waiting so long for each other, why wait?

Which is why, on this random Thursday in September, Beca finds herself at a jewelry story with Amy. Chloe is at work and both kids are at school and Beca has nothing to do today. Beca has been secretly planning a proposal since that moment on the sofa with her girlfriend two months ago.

The staff have been fluttering around her since she walked in, offering help and advice. She’s sure they don’t give their normal customers this level of attention, Beca would prefer to have them not give a shit that she’s here. 

“Miss Mitchell, I think you’ll like these,” the sales lady behind the counter urges Beca over to a display of very expensive looking engagement rings, “I’m sure your girlfriend will as well.”

Beca blushes at the woman’s words. She’s still not used to being public with Chloe. Having strangers know who she is, is well strange. Chloe would agree, she gained a large amount of Instagram followers that day after Beca announced her relationship. She gets recognized in public now, neither one of them are quite used to it yet.

“Um, I don’t know,” Beca looks down at the rings the saleswoman is pushing her to, none of them look like Chloe.

“What about this one?” Amy calls Beca over from the glass case she was peering into.

Beca walks over to where Amy is standing, her finger pressed up against the glass to show her, “Wow, that’s pretty.”

The ring she’s pointing to is a sapphire instead of a classic diamond engagement ring. It’s a simple silver band at the back, the ends twisting and curling towards the center of the ring. On either side of the moderately sized sapphire, is a small sparkling diamond. It’s simpler than others, but absolutely beautiful. It screams Chloe.

“Well, did I find the one?” Amy moves her hand from the case and stands back proudly, smiling at Beca.

To Beca’s surprise, maybe she did find the one. No other ring she’s seen today has come close to being what she wants for Chloe, but she can’t give Amy that satisfaction quite yet.

“Eh, it’s pretty, but I don’t know Ames,” Beca moves over to look into another case, smirking at the other girl, “I’m going to keep looking.”

“Oh, come on, that one’s perfect!” Amy pouts.

Beca honestly tries looking at the other rings, but she keeps thinking about the look that’ll be on Chloe’s face when she slides that gorgeous sapphire ring onto her finger. After about five minutes she walks back over to where Amy is still pouting.

“You’re right Amy, that is the perfect ring for Chloe.”

Amy punches the air excitedly, “Yes, crushed it! I found the ring, does this mean you’re buying lunch?”

Beca rolls her eyes, “Yea I’ll buy you lunch.”

The ring box in the front pocket of Beca’s jeans feels like it’s burning a hole into the top of her thigh. She just won’t feel safe until it’s home, in a spot where she knows Chloe won’t find it. Amy had chastised her for putting such an expensive ring in such an unsecure spot, but Beca didn’t trust it anywhere but on her person. She did worry a little about it falling out, so she stuffed her hand in her pocket, her fingers curling around the little box for the rest of the day.

When Beca finally makes it home, she runs to the one place Chloe rarely goes. She pushes the door open to her home studio, grabbing a small box from under one of the desks. It’s where she keeps all her old flash drives, filled with old mixes and songs from the past years. She’s positive that Chloe will never find it here, she doesn’t even know this box exists.

************

Little does Beca know that Chloe has been planning her own proposal. It’s grand and over the top because it’s Chloe. She knows that Beca doesn’t like grand gestures but she just can’t help herself. There’s one last piece to the puzzle that she needs for her plan and she’s hoping she can find it.

When Chloe gets home that night, Beca is standing at the stove, stirring a pot of something delicious smelling. The kids are sitting in the living room, content watching _Finding Dory_ for about the one hundredth time.

“Hey Becs,” she greets her girlfriend happily, placing a light kiss to her cheek.

Beca spins around from the cooking food, to kiss her soundly on the lips, “Hey Chlo, have a good day?”

“Yea, it was busy though,” Chloe peers into the pot on the stove, “what’s for dinner?”

“Beca’s world famous chili,” her girlfriend says proudly, wooden spoon in hand.

Chloe quirks an eyebrow and smiles, “World famous huh? How come I’ve never eaten it before now?”

“I can’t give away all my secrets right off the bat,” Beca sticks the spoon back in the pot, stirring the red liquid.

“Well I can’t wait to eat it then, but first I’m going to go shower. I feel gross,” Chloe gestures down to her stained purple scrubs.

Beca nods, “Sounds good, make it a quick one, dinner will be ready soon.”

Chloe heads upstairs and takes the quickest shower of her life, she has a limited window of time to do what she really needs to. After she’s all ready, she walks sneakily to Beca’s studio. Chloe doesn’t come in here often, when Beca is here, she’s working. As much as Chloe _loves_ watching Beca work, she doesn’t want to disrupt her.

Chloe is pretty sure she knows what she’s looking for is here somewhere though. It’s a mix Beca made her in college. That mix was one of the first things that made Chloe realize she was in love with Beca. It means so much to her, she knows Beca will love it if she can incorporate it into her plan.

Chloe rifles through drawers and cabinets, nothing jumping out at her. It’s one of the last spots she checks in, but under the desk in the corner of the room she spies a small metal box. Chloe reaches under, grabbing the little blue box. She opens it carefully, it’s full of flash drives, but that’s not what she sees first. What immediately catches her eye is a black, velvet covered, ring box. It can’t be, can it? Chloe wants to look in the little box so bad, but if it is what she thinks it is…Chloe doesn’t want to ruin the surprise completely.

Her plan now completely, abandoned, Chloe shuts the little box and slips it back under the desk. Chloe’s head is swimming as she walks back down to the kitchen. Beca is going to propose to her. Chloe had planned her own proposal, but the thought of Beca getting down on one knee and pulling that box from her pocket, makes Chloe thrum with excitement.

************

Beca shakes with nerves as she checks her appearance in the mirror for about the hundredth time. Tonight is the night. Her hand shakes as she moves it up to her face to shove a rogue strand of hair behind her ear.

Chloe’s reflection shows up behind her, hands landing on her waist, “Amy is here, you ready?”

Beca cringes again at the thought of Amy being their babysitter for the night, but they couldn’t get anyone else, “Yea, let’s go. You look beautiful by the way,” Beca admires her girlfriend before they leave their bedroom.

She’s wearing a navy blue dress that hugs her figure in all the right spots, her red hair hangs loosely around her face, the color popping vibrantly against the dark fabric of her dress. Beca can’t help but notice that her dress is going to match the ring perfectly, the thought makes her smile widely.

Chloe smiles brightly back at her, “You do too.”

Beca opted for a black ankle length pants, a blazer and heels, mostly because she needed an outfit with pockets, for the ring.

When Beca and Chloe make it downstairs, Amy is already running around the entire lower floor of the house. She’s making roaring noises, Amelia and Christopher run from her giggling and screaming the whole way. She stops short when she sees the two at the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh, hey guys,” she props her hands on her hips, breathing hard, it’s not too often Amy runs vertically, “these two are fun, why doesn’t Aunt Fat Amy get to watch them more often?”

Beca and Chloe both look at each other, Chloe raises a suspicious eyebrow, “Well Ames, we’ll see how this time goes, maybe we’ll keep you on standby more often.”

“Auntie Amy!!” the screeching of the two little kids fills the room, before they both fly into Amy, knocking her forward slightly.

“Where’d you go?” Christopher asks her.

“I had to talk to your mommies for a second,” Amy messes up his curly red hair, making his face scrunch up, “why don’t you say goodbye too?”

Christopher walks over first to Chloe, wrapping his arms tightly around her, “Bye Mommy,” then he walks over to Beca, pulling her in a tight hug as well, “Bye Momma.”

At first Beca doesn’t think she heard him right, he’s never called her that before.

Her heart speeds up in her chest as she pulls the little boy out of her arms, “Did you call me Momma?”

He nods happily, his hand reaches up to touch her face, “Yea cause you’re my Momma.”

Beca laughs happily, not able to hold back the tears rolling down her face. Chloe kneels down next to the two, Beca can see she’s crying as well.

He looks at them both confused, “Why are you crying?”

“Oh bug, you just made Momma and Mommy really happy, that’s all,” Chloe says, rubbing his back, “we’re not sad.”

Amelia walks over sheepishly, extending an arm out to Chloe, “Does that mean you’re my Momma?”

Chloe’s eyes soften, pulling the little girl closer to the three of them, “Only if you want me to be, I can still just be Chloe.”

Amelia looks at Beca expectantly. Beca can tell she wants to make sure it’s ok. Beca nods, because of course it is, nothing would make her happier.

Amelia throws her arms around Chloe, “You’re my Momma.”

Neither Beca nor Chloe can hold back the happy tears now. They both pull the little kids into a big group hug. Amelia and Christopher don’t realize how big of a deal it is to their mommies, they’re a little confused by the tears but they hug the two women back happily. Beca is over the moon and she can tell Chloe is too.

Amy clears her throat, “Not to break up this beautiful moment, but don’t you two twig bitches have a date to get to?”

Leave it to Amy.

Beca nods, and the hug dissolves, “Ok guys, we’ll see you later.”

They stand up and Chloe grabs Beca’s hand, “Be good for your Aunt Amy guys.”

“Maybe we should be telling Amy to behave as well,” Beca jokes before they head out the door.

Beca didn’t want to go overboard with the theatrics tonight. She just wanted it to be a simple, romantic night. Although when you are a famous singer, it can be hard to keep that intimate, simple feeling. Beca really wanted to take Chloe to her favorite Italian restaurant, so to avoid disrupting their evening, she might have rented out the restaurant for two hours, fame has it’s perks sometimes. So, in the end, it kind of seems like a grand gesture.

The second they pull up to the restaurant, Chloe is on to her, “Why is the parking lot so empty Becs? It’s a Friday night.”

Beca shrugs, willing the blush on her cheeks to disappear, “Hmm, I don’t know, that’s strange.”

Beca and Chloe walk into the restaurant hand in hand, the hostess at the door greets them cheerily, “Miss Mitchell, Miss Beale, lovely to have you tonight. I have the table you requested.”

The hostess leads them to through the restaurant, to a table in the middle of the building. The lights are low, and there are a few candles lighting the table they’ll sit at.

Chloe is looking around confused, “Beca there is no one else here.”

Beca tries not to laugh, “I might have rented out the restaurant for a couple hours…”

“You did not!” Chloe exclaims, mouth hanging open, “You rented out one of LA’s most popular restaurants on a Friday night?”

Beca grabs Chloe’s hand from across the table as they sit down, “I wanted you to have a special night, where no one is taking pictures of us from across the room or coming up to our table to ask for a picture.”

“Beca Mitchell,” her eyes watering, she squeezes Beca’s hand she’s holding, “you are the best girlfriend ever, I love you.”

“I love you too Chlo,” Beca smiles back at her.

Their waiter walks over to the table, a bottle in his hand, “Good evening ladies,” he sets the bottle of merlot down on the table and promptly opens it with a pop, pouring them both a glass, “Can I get you anything else before I go?”

“Actually, I’m sure we’re ready to order, if that’s alright,” Beca looks over at Chloe to confirm, she never even needs to look at the menu when they come here, both of them already decided on what they want.

“Absolutely, what can I get you?” he asks kindly.

They both place their usual orders and the waiter leaves the table.

“So, what’s the special occasion that you decided to rent out an entire restaurant?” Chloe quirks an eyebrow, “It’s not a very Beca thing to do.”

She knew Chloe would be on to her in an instant, “You’ll see.”

“Hmm, how very cryptic of you,” Chloe lifts the glass of merlot to her lips, taking a long sip.

Chloe doesn’t question the shockingly empty restaurant again, content to ride out Beca’s plan with her. They fall into easy conversation, Beca’s hands sweating the entire time. She’s nervous, more nervous than she has been in a long time. She shouldn’t be, this is something the both want. She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Instead of focusing on that, she watches the way Chloe’s bright blue eyes sparkle against the candlelight, or the way her lips curl into a slight smile every time she talks about something she loves, which is often. God, Beca loves her so much. Overcome by the love she feels for the red head across the table, the knot of nerves in her stomach disappears.

Both of their plates are empty, and they are on their third glass of wine, well Chloe is. Beca stopped at two, wanting to make sure she’s ok to drive them to their next destination.

“You ready for the next part of this adventure?” Beca asks, as she finishes paying for their meal.

“There’s more?” Chloe asks, the surprise evident on her face.

Beca just smiles and nods, not willing to give away anymore of the plan.

They drive for a while, Chloe asks question incessantly, wanting to know what is happening. Beca keeps her mouth shut, not wanted to ruin anything. Chloe finally stops asking questions when she realizes Beca isn’t going to say anything.

They finally arrive at their destination, about twenty minutes later. They’re very much out in nature, not much is around except for rocks, sand, grass and trees. It all makes sense when Beca drives her car to what appears to be the edge of a cliff.

She parks and Chloe looks at her expectantly, “Did you drive me out in the middle of nowhere to finally get rid of me?”

Beca shoves her, sticking out her tongue, “Just get out of the car and follow me, you’ll see why we’re here in a second.”

They get out of the car, and Beca pops the trunk to get a small cooler and a blanket. They walk over to the edge and Chloe’s eyes light up at the sight of the city below them.

“Becs, this is beautiful. How did you know about this spot?”

“I’ve got my ways,” Beca smiles, spreading the blanket down on the ground for them to sit on.

They both sit down and Beca opens the small cooler to reveal a couple pints of Ben and Jerry’s.

“A view and ice cream, I like the way you think Mitchell,” Chloe is quick to grab the pint of cherry garcia, Beca knows it’s her favorite.

Beca grabs the pint of chocolate chip cookie dough and opens it. The two sit in silence for a while, watching the city lights below them, eating their ice cream. Beca’s nerves are back, she better do it now, before she spins out again.

“Chloe,” she says almost seriously, and Chloe turns to look at her.

“Yea Beca?”

“I never thought I’d get to see this moment,” Beca takes a deep breath before, reaching into her pocket and grabbing the ring box, “I have loved you for so long. I never stopped loving you, ever since college. It’s always been you Chlo, I can’t imagine my life without you in it. Will you marry me?”

Chloe’s gasps when Beca opens the small box, revealing the stunning sapphire ring, “Oh my god Beca, yes. Yes!”

Beca’s hands tremble with relief and sheer joy as she slides the ring onto Chloe’s finger.

Chloe is crying, she stops to wipe the tears away and quickly stands up, “Wait there, I have something for you!”

Chloe runs to the car, opening the door to the passenger side. She sees her head dip below the dashboard, she must be looking for something.

Chloe runs back over to their spot, dropping back down to the ground, revealing a small velvet box of her own, “Great minds think alike, I’ve been hanging onto this for a while.”

This time it’s Beca’s turn to gasp when Chloe opens the box to reveal a ring of her own, it’s a silver ring, similar to the one she got Chloe, instead of a normal white diamond at the center is a black diamond, “Chlo.”

“You beat me to the punch, but you should have a ring too,” Chloe smiles as she slides the black diamond onto Beca’s finger, “I love you so much Beca, and I am more than ready for you to be my wife.”

Beca is leans forward, closing the distance between them. Their lips meet in a passionate kiss, she pours every ounce of love she has for Chloe into the kiss. The intenseness of the moment isn’t lost on Chloe and she kisses Beca back with just as much fervor. They finally break apart when the need for air grows too strong. Beca holds Chloe against her tightly still, not wanting to break the closeness.

“Before you, I didn’t think I’d ever get married again,” Chloe whispers, looking deeply into Beca’s eyes, “I didn’t want to do this again, unless it was with you.”

“I didn’t think I would either,” Beca admits, “but I’m so happy I am.”

They sit like that, wrapped up in each other for longer than Beca realizes. If she never had to leave this moment, she wouldn’t. She never thought she would have this beautiful life with Chloe, ever. Life had a funny way of finally getting them here, together, but Beca wouldn’t change a single thing about it. This is exactly how it was meant to be. 


	18. Chapter 18

_*7 years ago*_

Chloe’s hands run shakily over the smooth white fabric of her dress. She takes a deep breath, attempting to calm her nerves. Tired, blue eyes stare back at her from her reflection in the full-length mirror. This isn’t how you’re supposed to feel on your wedding day. You’re supposed to be unbearably happy and emotional, in a good way. Chloe is emotional, for a myriad of other reasons, but certainly not because she is overflowing with joy. She loves Chicago, but why does this feel so wrong? There’s a nagging part of her that knows exactly what’s wrong, but she refuses to entertain those thoughts today.

The door behind her opens slowly, she can see Aubrey poke her head in, “How’s it going?”

“Bree why am I not happier about this?” Chloe sighs as Aubrey steps fully into the room, shutting the door behind her quietly.

The blonde is already in her light blue bridesmaid dress, her hair curled loosely, face full of makeup already, “You don’t have to go through with this you know.”

Of course she doesn’t _have to,_ but there’s no way in hell she’s backing out now, “Everyone is here already, money can’t be refunded anymore, I can’t call it quits now.”

“You look beautiful,” Aubrey’s eyes drift up and down, examining the mermaid style wedding dress clinging to her body, she reaches up to move a piece of hair that has already fallen out of the intricate bun atop her head, “the money doesn’t matter, everyone can leave, what matters is if you love him. Do you want this?”

Chloe does love Chicago, and if she can’t have who she really wants, Chicago is the one. She knows she’ll have a happy life with him, “I love him.”

“Then that’s all that matters,” Aubrey grabs her hand and gives it a squeeze, “you’re just having a little bit of cold feet, but if at any point you need this to stop…just give me a sign. This is why Amy is a part of the bridal party…is it not?”

Chloe genuinely smiles for the first time today, a laugh escaping her lips, “Thanks Bree, you are the best friend anyone could ever have.”

“Now come on Chlo, the rest of the girls want to see you before,” Aubrey takes her hand to lead her from the room, “let’s go.”

************

This might be on the top of the list for the most insane things Beca has ever done. Hands gripping the steering wheel tight, she looks down at her phone, one more hour and she should be crossing the border into Georgia. Beca’s been driving almost non-stop since Wednesday, just hoping she makes it by Friday before the wedding. She’s fatigued and running on pure adrenaline and she definitely shouldn’t be driving with how little sleep she’s had. She’s a damn fool for not just trying to find a flight out from LA, but when she woke from a dead sleep with this daring, stupid idea in her head, nothing was going to stop her.

_Beca’s eyes snap open wide, still breathing heavy from the dream she was having. All her senses filled with the same red head that’s plagued all her thoughts and dreams since their fight two months ago. Beca’s hand flies out to her side, blindly looking for her phone. The bright screen illuminates the dark room, making her squint. 3 am, two days from now Chloe will be getting married. Suddenly, Beca knows exactly what she has to do._

_Her heart hammers in her chest and she madly stuffs clothes into her small duffel bag. If she’s going to make it to Atlanta by Friday afternoon, she has to leave now. Moving purely on adrenaline and insanity, Beca flies to the parking lot of her apartment complex. She flings herself into the driver’s seat, this cheap used car better make it almost all the way across the country. Even if it dies when she gets there, she can get a flight back. She just needs to get there, she needs to tell Chloe that she loves her._

Now as she’s on the last leg of her journey, she’s starting to wonder if this was the best idea. With the long distance here, Beca has had plenty of time to mull over her plan and gather her thoughts. Truth is, there is no plan. What the hell is going to happen when she gets there? Beca’s not sure she has the balls to storm back into Chloe’s life and declare her love on the girl’s wedding day.

She’s got to try though; she had the balls to get into this car in the wee hours of the morning with zero direction. It wasn’t until she was halfway to Atlanta that she realized she didn’t even know where the wedding was taking place. Thank the lord Amy was willing to tell her the address when Beca tried calling her. She seems to be Beca’s only ally in this whole situation (probably because she’s the only Bella that knows exactly how Beca feels about Chloe). Most everyone else was pissed that Beca refused to be a part of the wedding, knowing that it was hurting Chloe greatly. Honestly, that’s the last thing she wants to do, and she’s sorry it happened.

Beca finally pulls up to the wedding venue about three hours later. She’s exhausted and probably smells and looks awful. That doesn’t matter right now though, all that matters is getting to Chloe before the wedding starts, which is one hour from now. She looks around, still sitting in the driver’s seat of her little car. It’s a quaint little chapel, tucked in between lush, green trees. It’s a serene setting, but it’s not what Beca ever pictured for Chloe. There were a few times that the two had talked about dreams and wishes, from this Beca knows Chloe had always wanted an open-air wedding, not some stuffy chapel wedding.

Her heart skips a beat when she catches a glimpse of a powder blue dress and light blonde hair, Aubrey. She’s standing outside the door of a building adjacent to the church itself, like she’s looking for something.

Beca finally pushes the door open and stands up on solid ground for the first time in hours. Her feet ache and she starts to walk over to the small building on shaky legs. This is really stupid, really fucking stupid. When she’s about halfway there, she locks eyes with Aubrey, who doesn’t look even slightly surprised. Aubrey starts to stalk over to Beca, she can feel a chill of fear go down her spine before the blonde is even in front of her.

“Beca, what a surprise,” Aubrey mutters, now towering over Beca, even taller than she normally is, presumably due to the heels she’s wearing.

“Hey Aubrey,” she replies, hating that her voice is already shaking.

Aubrey’s eyes scan Beca’s ratty, road trip appearance coolly, “I didn’t think you were going to be here, considering all the tears Chloe has already shed over your absence.”

A pang of guilt rips through her at Aubrey’s words, “It was a last-minute decision.”

“Well, I think you should get back into that car and turn right around,” Aubrey motions to the vehicle.

“I can’t do that Aubrey,” Beca stands her ground, “I need to see Chloe.”

Aubrey puts her hands on her hips, “Well maybe I can’t let you see her.”

“You have to, please,” Beca hates how she’s already begging.

“You broke her fucking heart when you refused to be here,” Aubrey is glaring down at her, “then didn’t bother to answer any of her texts or calls. Now you think you can show up here and do what Beca?”

“I feel awful about that, I do,” she’s crying now and she can’t stand it, but with the exhaustion and all the adrenaline coursing through her, she can’t help it, “but I need to tell her that I love her.”

“You can’t tell her that now,” Aubrey rubs her forehead exasperatedly, “do you realize how shitty your timing is?”

“I know it’s awful timing, but I have to know I tried,” Beca pleads.

“You’re too late Beca,” Aubrey says dryly.

“Please Aubrey,” tears are still trailing down Beca’s face.

“Go home,” Aubrey isn’t budging, “I hope someday you two can figure out your shit, but today is not that day. Do you realize what you telling her that would do to her? You would ruin her entire wedding day.”

A tiny sliver of hope arises inside of Beca, is Aubrey implying that Chloe might feel the same way, “Can you just tell me…does she love me too?” she has to ask. If anyone knows, Aubrey does.

Aubrey takes a moment to respond, “She loves Chicago.”

That’s what Beca was afraid she was going to hear. She feels like she’s going to be sick. This was a stupid idea. Did she really expect to show up here and have Chloe fall into her arms?

“Ok I’ll just go then,” she turns to head back to her car.

“Beca,” Aubrey calls out behind her and she spins to face the other girl, “please, I know you can’t be with her how you’d like, but don’t give up on her. You mean so much to Chloe.”

Beca nods solemnly, “Yea ok.”

Aubrey gives her a weak smile before she slides back into the car. Before she knows what she’s doing, her phone is to her ear and she’s calling one of the only people she knows yet in Georgia.

“Hey dad, I’m in town…are you home?”

He’s surprised, but gladly invites her over. She puts his address in her GPS and is back on the road. When she’s a good distance away from the little chapel, she finally lets the tears fall. By the time she pulls up to her dad’s house, her eyes are red and puffy. This is going to be an awkward conversation…

************

Aubrey slips back into the little room where Chloe and all the Bellas are gathered. She’s still a little shaken up by the encounter with Beca. She had no right coming here today. Aubrey was there, picking up all the pieces after what happened between her best friend and Beca. She has no clue the pain Chloe has been through. Aubrey knows that Chloe isn’t alone in her pain, Beca seemed pretty distraught too. Today can’t be that day though and Beca certainly can’t drop a bomb on Chloe like that. It has Aubrey wondering though, does Chloe feel something for the tiny, angry brunette?

“Bree, where were you?” Chloe smiles, holding a mimosa, looking to be in much better spirits now, “you’re missing my last official drink with the girls as a single lady!”

“Didn’t we do enough drinking last night?” Aubrey laughs, she’s surprised most of the girls are actually standing today.

“Don’t be a party pooper Aubrey,” Amy walks over to her, shoving a small flute of mimosa into her hand.

Aubrey still feels a little uneasy as she sips the mimosa slowly. Is Chloe doing the right thing? Beca and Chloe have always had a weirdly close relationship, but Chloe would have told her something like that, right? She would have told her that she felt something for Beca, Chloe is her best friend. She shakes her head in an attempt to push away the worry and downs the rest of the liquid from her glass.

************

When Chloe finally starts walking down the aisle, her dad holding her tightly by the arm, everything suddenly feels right. The music plays softly as they slowly stride down to the end. She can hear oohs and ahs from her guests, how beautiful her dress is, how pretty she looks. All that matters though is the moment she locks eyes with Chicago. He breaks out into a wide smile the moment their eyes find each other’s. Before she knows it, she’s to the end of the aisle and her dad is letting her arm go.

Chicago takes her hand and whispers in her ear, “You look gorgeous.”

Chloe blushes, wanting to respond but the ceremony begins before she has the chance.

The ceremony flies by in the blink of an eye, before she knows it, Chicago is sliding the ring onto her finger. She shakily slides the smooth gold band onto his finger as well.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride!”

They both lunge forward, their lips meeting in a tender but passionate kiss. Chicago’s arms wrap tightly around her middle, practically lifting her from the ground. When they finally part, Chloe feels weak in the knees. They grasp each other’s hands before heading down the aisle and out of the church.

For the first time in weeks, Chloe feels completely happy and so very loved. For the first time in weeks, Chloe isn’t thinking of Beca. It’s refreshing, she feels light. Maybe Chloe _can_ move on from her.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only 2 more chapters left after this one!! Thank you to everyone that has left kudos/commented and thank you to everyone that has been reading/following this story! I have loved writing this and have been toying around with the idea of a sequel, let me know if you would be interested in reading one!

The Bellas had insisted on having a bachelorette party for Beca and Chloe. Neither of them were too excited about the idea but went along with it for their friends. The Bellas have been overjoyed that their beloved captains finally got their heads out of their asses. It means that all the girls can finally hang out and be together again, the family is back together.

Knowing that a “normal” bachelorette party would be tough for Beca and well now Chloe too, with Beca’s fame, Beca had made sure to get them in a special VIP section at a few clubs. The Bellas had been way more excited than Beca had guessed they would be.

Beca is relaxed on one of the leather couches, near the corner of the room, a jack and coke in her hand. She smiles watching her fiancé dance with the other girls, they’re all in a big circle, jumping around, no serious dancing actually happening. Beca knows Chloe is already beyond tipsy, just from the way she’s moving. Chloe tosses her hands above her head, her body rolling slowly to the sensual beat. Beca swallows thickly, watching the way her curves move in the tight, short dress she selected for the night. It’s amazing what that woman does to her.

“Sup Beca,” CR practically shouts, the thumping music radiating through the club making it hard for normal conversation.

Beca nods as the other girl slides onto the sofa next to her, “Hey!”

“You having a good time?” CR says a little less loudly, now that they are sitting next to each other.

“Yea, it’s good to have a night away from the kids with our friends,” Beca replies, she is really grateful to let her hair down and let go for a night, like when they were all a lot younger. Since all the Bellas are now in their 30s, except for Emily, clubbing isn’t quite as wild as it used to be, but they’re still going at it pretty hard.

“Who did you pawn the kids off on, if we’re all here?” Cynthia Rose asks curiously.

It’s no secret that all the Bellas that live in the LA area are regular babysitters for Beca and Chloe’s kids. They just don’t trust many other people to do it.

“Well, it’s Jesse’s week with Amelia and he actually offered to take Christopher for tonight and tomorrow too,” Beca had practically fainted when Jesse offered to help out, knowing they were in kind of a pickle.

CR quirks an eyebrow, “Wow, he must be starting to feel more ok about everything.”

“I think so, I’m glad,” Beca takes a sip of her drink.

Beca’s eyes lock with Chloe’s as the red head saunters over to her. Instead of sitting down next to her, she takes a seat right on Beca’s lap, her body, sweaty from dancing, clings to Beca’s small frame.

Beca immediately wraps an arm around her waist, “Hey baby.”

Chloe leans down and presses a wet kiss to Beca’s lips, “Come dance with me.”

Beca tightens her grip around her fiancé and places another lingering kiss on her lips, how can she say no to Chloe?

“Ok, let’s go.”

Chloe hops off her lap and grabs Beca’s hand, pulling her up roughly from the couch. Beca lets her drag her over to their friends, Chloe hands immediately land on her hips, pulling her close. As they start to dance, _Often_ by the Weeknd starts playing. A playful smirk flashes across Chloe’s face and she pulls Beca even closer. They roll against each other in time with the pounding music, Chloe leans down to press a kiss to the exposed skin of Beca’s neck. Beca tries to hold back the whimper in her throat at the feeling of Chloe’s lips on her. Beca lets her hands roam up and down Chloe’s back as they dance closely. Chloe smells faintly of the perfume she put on before they left, but mostly like tequila and it’s oddly intoxicating.

Chloe gets more daring and throws her leg between Beca’s, knowing full well she’s been turning Beca on all night. The brunette does everything she can not to grind down onto it, seeking out some much needed friction. The urge to feel Chloe’s soft lips against her own overtakes her and Beca closes the distance between them. As Chloe deepens the heated kiss, Beca knows this isn’t dancing anymore. Outside of their own little bubble of lust, Beca can faintly hear Stacie wolf whistling, cheering on the little display they’re both putting on.

Beca finally pulls away, breathing heavily, “Chlo, we’ve got to stop or I’m going to have to drag you into the bathroom and finish what you’ve started.”

Chloe leans down to kiss the shell of her ear, her tongue juts out to lick against her piercings, “Maybe that’s what I want.”

Beca groans, of course she would and Beca might not be able to resist that temptation. Sweaty, gross, public bathroom sex isn’t high on Beca’s list of desires but Chloe has her so worked up tonight. And by the way Chloe is acting she’s pretty worked up herself.

Beca reconnects their lips in a dizzying kiss, before quickly pulling away and grabbing Chloe’s hand, “The things you can get me to do.”

Beca leads them away to the bathroom, she can hear Amy calling out behind them, “I’ll make sure no one goes into take a shit while you’re boning!”

They all know what’s about the happen. Normally, Beca would have a comeback but between the alcohol and Chloe’s general presence tonight, she’s too hazy to care. They barely make it into the bathroom, before Beca is shoving them into the nearest stall, the door slamming with a loud bang. She pushes Chloe up against the door roughly, their lips crash together in a bruising kiss.

Before Beca can make a move, Chloe is shoving at her pushing her from her body. She quickly flips them, pinning Beca to the door now. Chloe’s lips leave hers to assault her neck, her hand grazing up the inside of Beca’s thigh. As Beca feels Chloe’s fingertips trace closer and closer to where she wants her, she is now very grateful that she had taken the advice on wearing a dress tonight.

When Chloe’s fingers finally slide over soaked lace, Beca bites her lip to hold a moan back. She can’t help the way her hips move at the simple touch.

“Bec,” Chloe stutters, “you’re soaked.”

“You look so hot tonight Chlo, and the way you’ve been dancing, I can’t help it,” Beca says breathily.

Chloe growls lightly, connecting their lips once again, her tongue sliding into Beca’s mouth immediately. She shoves Beca’s underwear to the side, letting her fingers slide through her folds. Beca groans into Chloe’s mouth, when her fingers finally find her swollen clit. It feels so good but she needs to feel her girlfriend’s fingers inside her, “Ugh, baby, fuck me.”

Chloe looks at into Beca’s eyes as she easily plunges two fingers into her, her eyes dark with desire. Beca’s head tips back, hitting hard against the black metal door. Chloe pants as she fucks her hard, her palm rubbing against her clit deliciously the whole time. Beca’s still biting her lip hard, in an attempt to hold all the noises threatening to spill out of her mouth back.

One of Beca’s hands is still gripped tightly to Chloe’s back, but she moves it around slowly, to push the fabric of Chloe’s dress up. She wants to… _needs_ to feel Chloe, she wants them to come together. A loud moan rolls past Chloe’s lips when Beca’s hand slides past the fabric of her panties. She wastes no time in sinking her fingers into her girlfriend, she’s already drenched. Her hips buck at the contact and Beca copies the movement happening between her own legs.

“Mm so close already Becs,” Chloe mumbles hotly in her ear.

“Me too,” Beca manages to squeak back.

Without much warning, Beca falls over the edge, her entire body stiffening. She comes with a sharp cry, her body shaking. Chloe doesn’t fall far behind, her body shuddering against Beca’s, her walls pulsing around Beca’s fingers. They rest limply against each other for a moment, coming down slowly from their intense climaxes.

Chloe finally steps away, smoothing her dress back down, “I love you Beca.”

Beca pushes her own dress back down and gives Chloe a quick peck on the lips, “I love you too Chlo.”

The two leave the bathroom, looking a little rougher than when they had gone in. All the Bellas smirk at them knowingly when they make it back to the group.

“Alright hand it over loser,” Amy puts her hand out to Stacie, who begrudgingly drops a ten dollar bill into it, “told you they wouldn’t even make it two hours before screwing.”

“Did you guys seriously bet on that?” Beca’s jaw drops at the situation unfolding before her.

“Oh light up Shawshank,” Amy says, pocketing the money, “you two can be very predictable.”

************

The morning of the wedding is akin to Christmas morning in the Beale Mitchell household. The kids barely made it past 6 am before they were bouncing off the walls. When Chloe finally wakes up at 7 that morning, she finds both Amelia and Christopher running around the hallway upstairs, swinging their “flower kid” baskets wildly in the air. When Christopher found out the role of flower girl that Amelia got in the wedding, he had seethed with jealously. Chloe and Beca had quickly come to the decision that he could be a flower boy. That’s how they ended up coining the term flower kids.

“Mommy! It’s wedding day!” Christopher bounces over to Chloe excitedly, throwing his little white basket into the air.

Amelia runs over as well, throwing her arms around Chloe’s legs, “Momma, when do I get to put my dress on?”

Chloe smiles warmly at their enthusiasm, “Not yet sweet pea, the wedding isn’t for six hours. We don’t want you ruining it, but you do get to come with me and your Aunties to get your hair done in a few hours.”

In keeping with tradition, Chloe and Beca are going to get ready separately from each other. They split the Bellas somewhat evenly between them for bridesmaids, Chloe took Aubrey, Stacie, Ashley, Jessica and Flo. Beca took Amy, Emily, CR and Lily. They’ll each get ready with their side of the wedding party.

To both Beca and Chloe’s surprise, after offering Amelia her options, she chose to get ready with Chloe’s group. Christopher is going to hang out with Beca and her bridesmaids. They wanted the kids to be a part of it all, instead of pawning them off on a family member. This day is just as important for them as it is for Beca and Chloe.

“Did you get your stuff ready to go to your daddy’s later?” Chloe asks Amelia, she then looks at Christopher, “did you get your things ready for Uncle Jesse’s?”

Jesse has really come leaps and bounds from where he was when Chloe and Beca started their relationship. He has really embraced both Chloe and Christopher, Beca and him get along a lot better now too. It makes Chloe happy that Beca can still have him in her life. They didn’t even ask him, but Jesse had offered to watch both the kids for a few days so Beca and her could have a honeymoon.

Chloe hears footsteps behind her and turns around to see a very sleepy looking Beca. Her hair is wild, and her shirt wrinkled up, exposing a little of her stomach. Chloe thinks she looks adorable.

“I heard all the commotion, what is this, wedding day excitement?” Beca yawns, a half-awake smile on her face.

Chloe leans into Beca’s space to place a quick good morning kiss to her lips, “Well duh. Catch up with us Mitchell.”

The house is full of commotion the whole morning, both Beca and Chloe run around wildly getting all the last-minute things ready. When they finally get everyone and all their things in the car, they have half an hour to get to the wedding venue and LA traffic to deal with on top of it. Beca’s hair and makeup people are going to be meeting them there to get them and all the girls ready for the big day.

“I knew we should have gotten more things ready last night,” Beca grumbles as she throws the car into reverse, backing out of her long driveway, “we’ll never make it in time.”

Chloe rubs her hand on Beca’s back comfortingly, “Becs, it’s ok. It’s not a big deal, we get there when we get there.”

Chloe knows Beca doesn’t like to be rushed, they really should have been more prepared. She doesn’t want to support any chance for Beca to be grumpy today though.

They arrive to the wedding venue only about ten minutes late, which isn’t bad considering how rough the traffic was today. Chloe marvels again at how beautiful it is, they chose a place right on the beach. It’s always been one of Chloe’s secret wishes to get married on the beach and Beca was more than happy to make her dream come true. There is a beach house of sorts there, where everyone will get ready and later where the some of the reception will happen, even though it will be mostly outdoors. It’s a beautiful day, bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds. It’s warm but not unbearably hot. Chloe couldn’t have picked a better day.

Chloe takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, soaking in the ocean breeze. A sense of calmness and happiness wash over her as the bright sun warms her skin. Today is the day Chloe has waited for, for years. A year ago, getting married to Beca is something that could have only been achieved in her wildest fantasies. If she’s honest with herself, this moment is one she’s waited for since around the time of Beca’s sophomore year of college. She had fallen so hard and so quickly for her.

“Chlo, are you ok?” she feels Beca’s presence next to her.

Chloe opens her eyes again to meet Beca’s gaze, “I’m great.”

“What was all that about there?” Beca asks curiously.

“I was just thinking about how happy I am that this day is finally here,” Chloe says dreamily.

“I’m happy too,” Beca pulls Chloe into her arms and she sinks into the embrace, relishing the small moment with her fiancé before the busy day ahead of them.

Chloe reluctantly pulls away from Beca’s arms, knowing they have things to do, “We better go, we are already late…and I think the kids are going to be 80% sand if we don’t reign them in,” Chloe points over at their kids, who are running happily through sand, shoes already discarded on the pavement.

Beca nods, “Yea we better,” she waves over at the kids, “get back over here you two! You can play later!”

Amelia and Christopher run over to them happily, forgetting their shoes on the edge of the parking lot.

“I’ll get them,” Beca rolls her eyes and laughs as she walks over to the two little pairs of sandals.

************

About an hour and a half later, Chloe and all her bridesmaid’s hair and makeup are done. They are all lounging around in silky pink robes that Chloe had gotten everyone, even Amelia has a little one on. Amelia had been so excited to get some minimal make up done and her hair curled and pinned up into a bun on the top of her head.

Chloe’s mom and sister are there as well, flitting around and chatting with the girls. Her sister had agreed to take photos before the ceremony, since she’s an aspiring photographer. It’s a good opportunity for her to practice.

Chloe’s heart soars when she sees her mom sitting on the sofa with Amelia. The little girl is chattering away animatedly about something, her hands flailing around her. She must have gotten the chatty streak from her dad because it certainly wasn’t from Beca. She loves that her mom has completely accepted Amelia as one of her grandchildren, but she really shouldn’t have expected anything else.

Aubrey, in stark contrast to her behavior at Chloe’s first wedding, brought a couple bottles of wine. Chloe pours herself a second small glass, having already finished one. She isn’t nervous in a bad way per say, but she just wants something to ease the bubbling nervous excitement within her.

“You ready? Only about an hour more,” Aubrey asks, walking up next to Chloe, still nursing her own glass of wine.

“I’m so excited…and so happy,” Chloe gushes, this is how she should have felt her first wedding, she should have known it wasn’t right then.

“I love you seeing you so happy Chlo, I’m so glad that you two found your way back to each other,” Aubrey says honestly, her voice thick with emotion, “I just regret that it couldn’t have been sooner.”

“Aubrey, you really don’t have to keep beating yourself up over what happened,” Chloe reaches out to touch Aubrey’s arm, “that was so long ago. I don’t regret anything that’s happened in my life.”

“I know Chloe…” Aubrey starts to say but is cut off by Chloe’s mom.

“You ready to get your dress on honey?”

Chloe nods but turns to assure Aubrey once more before leaving to getting ready, “I love you Aubrey. Thank you for being here for me today.”

Chloe’s mom looks at Aubrey as well, she’s always adored Chloe’s best friend, “Come on sweetheart, you’re the maid of honor, you should help.”

Chloe doesn’t really need much help; her dress is much simpler than her first wedding dress. All she really needed help with was getting it over her hair without ruining it. She wanted something light since it’s a beach wedding.

The two women stare in the full-length mirror at Chloe, who is absolutely beaming. Her dress is simple and flowing on the bottom, going almost past her feet. The top is lacey with an intricate floral pattern, the neckline is deep, plunging past her breasts, showing an ample amount of cleavage. There’s a small white band of fabric between the top and skirt of her dress.

“You look gorgeous,” Aubrey and her mom say almost in unison.

They walk back out into the main room and all the girls gush as soon as Chloe walks in.

Amelia runs up to Chloe immediately, jumping up and down happily, “Momma, you’re soooo pretty!”

Everyone giggles at the little girl’s honest reaction.

Chloe bends down to pull Amelia into a hug, “You look pretty too sweat pea,” the little girl had changed into her dress a little while ago as well.

Everyone else gets changed into their dresses and before they know it, they are all outside waiting for the ceremony to begin. Chloe looks over to where they have the chairs set up and most of their friends and family are here. She scans the area around them, looking for her girlfriend. Beca is no where to be seen, but she knows the girls are keeping them purposely apart. It was Chloe who requested it that way, but she just needs to see Beca. She’s practically shaking with excitement, the two glasses of wine she drank not having the effect she wanted.

Before she has a chance to scope out where Beca is, they are all being lined up to walk and start the ceremony. All of Chloe’s and Beca’s bridesmaids line up to walk, Amelia and Christopher end the train, both clutching onto their little baskets of petals excitedly.

They all start to file down the middle row as the music begins. Chloe pays special attention to her children as they skip excitedly down the aisle, tossing flower petals haphazardly. She doesn’t get much time to be emotional over her kid’s joy, before it’s Chloe’s turn to walk. She clutches onto her bouquet, as if it will keep her from floating away into the clouds. Chloe makes it to the arch of flowers, where the officiant is waiting. She quickly turns around, waiting to see Beca.

Beca appears at the end of the aisle and Chloe’s eyes already prickle with tears, her jaw dropping. Beca’s dress is a simple, strapless white gown, the skirt is long and light like Chloe’s. Beca opted to leave her hair down, unlike Chloe. She’s so gorgeous is makes Chloe suck in a deep breath of air, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. Beca seems to be staring at Chloe with the same reverence, both women completely and utterly enamored with the other.

It’s almost as if time stands still as Beca walks slowly towards the arch. Chloe finally breathes a sigh of relief when Beca is standing next to her. Beca mouths _I love you,_ before the officiant starts to speak. Chloe quickly utters the sentiment back. She thinks she might die if she can’t touch Beca in some way, so she moves one of her hands from her bouquet to grab the hand dangling by Beca’s side. As their fingers lace together, Chloe feels at peace again.

Beca is the first to say her vows, Chloe waits on bated breath as Beca unfurls a little piece of paper that Amy hands her.

“I’m sorry everyone, I had too much to say. I needed to write it down,” the crowd chuckles lightly, Chloe notes the way her hands shake as she holds the curled piece of paper, steely grey eyes finally meet hers and Beca begins to speak, “You know how when you have a favorite song, you can play it hundreds of times and yet you never seem to be sick of it? You know every lyric, every downbeat, and when the melody shifts, but somehow there’s always something new to love about it. Well, Chloe that’s what you are. You are forever my favorite song. I love every little thing about you and yet you continue to surprise me. I want to keep falling in love with you forever. You mean the world to me Chlo and I hope I can continue to tell you that for the rest of my life. I always knew it was you. I love you.”

Chloe knows her makeup is ruined the way she’s crying, but she doesn’t care. She just hopes she can make it through her vows without losing it completely.

As overwhelmed as she is by Beca’s words, she manages to go forward, “For the longest time, I didn’t think I was ever going to get married again, I didn’t even think I would be in a relationship. I was sad, lonely and still in love with you. Then you came back into my life in the most unexpected way and I think I owe it to our kids,” Chloe stops, tears springing into her eyes once again, Beca gives Chloe’s hands a reassuring squeeze, “but Beca you came back into my life and turned it upside down in the best possible way. My world is bright, happy and so full of love with you in it. I’ve waited years for this moment…I always knew in my heart that we were destined to be. I love you with my whole heart Beca and I promise I will forever.”

Beca looks back at Chloe tearily, neither one of them holding it together very well. Aubrey leans over to Chloe and hands her Beca’s ring, Amy does the same for Beca. Chloe takes Beca’s hand, confidently sliding the silver band onto her finger. Beca grabs Chloe’s hand and slides her ring on, Beca’s hand still shaking slightly from nerves and emotion.

“By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you wives!” the officiant proudly states.

Chloe and Beca lunge for each other before the words are even out of her mouth. Chloe melts into Beca’s lips. They kiss each other so tenderly and lovingly; Chloe thinks her heart may explode with love. Chloe pulls back first, their family and friends all cheering loudly for them.

“I’m so glad you’re my wife,” Chloe beams, placing another light kiss on her lips.

It feels so good to call Beca her wife.

The rest of the night flies by in a blur of eating, drinking and dancing. Beca manages to resist the urge to smash cake into Chloe’s face when they cut the cake, which she is grateful for. Beca had joked about it for weeks. The kids have a wonderful time, especially since Beca had said they could play in the sand (but not after some grumbling from Chloe). They enjoy dancing with everyone and as the night goes on, they start to wear out. Jesse graciously offers to take them home around 8, since he is going to have them for the next few days anyways. 

They kiss so much and so often Chloe starts to lose track; people constantly clank on their glasses to get the newly weds to lock lips. The two are glued to each other’s side all night and Chloe resists to urge to drag her wife away and rip that beautiful dress right off. Every time Beca calls Chloe her wife, that desire grows stronger. 

The two are dancing slowly, wrapped up in each other’s arms. Chloe has drank just enough that she feels light and carefree but not enough that she won’t remember this beautiful day. In her hazy state, she can’t help the way her hands are wandering over all the available skin of Beca’s back, her fingers occasionally dipping past the cloth barrier prohibiting her exploration.

“Are you trying to undress me in front of all of our friends and family?” Beca says teasingly, her face in the crook of Chloe’s neck.

Chloe giggles, apparently she’s not as sly about her wandering hands as she had thought, “Have you seen yourself, I can’t be expected to keep my hands off of my wife all night.”

“Do you think it’s been easy to keep my own hands off you?” Beca pulls her face away, gaze drifting down to all Chloe’s cleavage on display, “Especially with that dress…just wait until I get you home.”

Chloe shivers at the thought, choosing not to respond. Instead she pulls Beca closer, the two still swaying together in time to the song playing. It’s late now and Chloe feels like she could fall asleep against Beca’s shoulder, the day has been so long and eventful, but she wishes it would never end.

************

Beca keeps true to her word and the second they are in the door, she’s tugging at Chloe’s dress, “You look so good baby, but it’s time for this to come off.”

Chloe groans, her skin already on fire. They shouldn’t stay up so late, they have a plane to catch tomorrow morning, ready to take them to their honeymoon destination, but it’s their wedding night. How can she possibly stop anything that is going to happen?

The thoughts she just had, leave her in an instant, when Beca let’s her own dress drop and pool around her feet. Chloe surges back forward, their lips connecting in a fiery kiss. Beca’s hands fumble around Chloe’s back looking for a zipper, but there isn’t one.

Chloe grabs Beca’s bottom lip between her teeth before pulling back, a whimper escapes the brunette at the action, “It goes over my head, there’s no zipper,” Choe says breathily.

“Damn trap of a dress,” Beca grumbles, hastily grabbing Chloe’s skirt in fistfuls, in an attempt to get it over her head.

Chloe laughs at Beca’s evident frustration and helps her wife pull the fabric up quickly, obviously no longer caring if it ruins her already wind damaged hair. They fumble together to get the dress off, letting it fly to the floor. The mood quickly shifts again after their brief roadblock, Beca’s darkened eyes rake over Chloe’s body. They stand in the entryway of their home, both in only their panties, their dresses in white heaps on the floor.

Chloe’s own eyes wander before pulling Beca back into her arms, meeting in another heated, needy kiss. The feeling of their breasts and already hardened nipples rubbing together pulls a moan from Chloe.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Beca manages to mumble against Chloe’s lips.

How they make it upstairs finally, Chloe has no clue. They have to stop on the stairs many times, too caught up in each other. By the time they finally make it in their bedroom, Chloe’s arousal is crashing over her in waves, the ache between her legs crying out for attention. Beca doesn’t seem to be that far off, her face red and chest heaving.

“Bed,” Chloe rasps out, pulling the ruined white lace she’s wearing down, kicking them off to the side.

Beca groans at Chloe’s commanding tone, shedding her own panties quickly and climbing onto the bed. When Chloe follows her onto the mattress, the rushed, needy mood shifts to a softer, more passionate one. Beca seeks out her lips almost immediately, her tongue slipping into Chloe’s mouth. The kiss languidly, Chloe lying half on top of Beca. She moves to straddle her wife’s thigh, allowing herself to rock down on it while they kiss.

“Chlo,” Beca pants, letting her hands wander up the red head’s chest, landing on her breasts.

Chloe sighs into the touch, moving one of her owns hands to Beca’s breast. She continues to rock onto Beca’s thigh, she’s sure she can feel how swollen and wet Chloe is.

“I want to try something,” Chloe whispers, even though they’ve been together for almost a year, there are still things that are still uncharted territory as far as their sex life goes.

“Ok,” Beca replies, still rolling Chloe’s nipple between her thumb and forefinger, making it difficult for Chloe to think.

Chloe moves off Beca’s thigh and turns around, her legs shaking with desire and anticipation. She scoots backwards until Beca’s head is between her legs. She’s sure Beca knows where this is going now, she groans at the sight of her wife’s glistening folds above her.

“Ride me baby,” Beca finally squeaks out, since Chloe has been hovering above her motionless.

Chloe finally lowers herself down and Beca’s mouth immediately finds her.

“Oh Becs,” Beca’s tongue feels so damn good on her, the brunette’s hands grip the top of her thighs tightly, helping to anchor Chloe in place.

As much as Chloe would love to stay in the exact position she’s in right now, she wants Beca to feel good too. Chloe leans down, her face lining up with Beca’s dripping center. Beca takes the change in stride, not letting up on the action between her thighs. She only falters momentarily as Chloe’s tongue finally makes contact with her throbbing clit. The two work in tandem, writhing against each other’s mouths.

It doesn’t take too long for Chloe to approach her orgasm, she holds it at bay for as long as she can, wanting to bring Beca there with her. She can only hold it off for so long, and she falls over the edge, her mouth detaching from Beca to scream her name as she comes. As soon as she recovers, she doubles down on her efforts between Beca’s legs. She can feel the woman beneath her shaking already, she has to be close. Beca is still working her hand between Chloe’s legs and Chloe is dangerously close again already.

Chloe finally feels Beca’s body stiffen beneath her, and she comes hard, a slew of profanities falling out of her mouth. It creates a chain reaction and Choe is coming again, the two shake against each other, coming down from their highs together.

Chloe moves off of her wife weakly, turning around to lie next to her, her arms wrapping around her immediately. Beca seeks out her lips, kissing her soundly. The trade lazy kisses for a while, basking in the afterglow.

“Today was so amazing Becs,” Chloe yawns, suddenly very tired again.

“It really was,” Beca replies happily, “I’m so glad you’re my wife.”

“Me too,” Chloe kisses Beca again, and holds out her hand to look at the sparkling wedding ring on her finger, “I love you.”

“I love you so much Chloe.”

She doesn’t think she’ll ever be tired of hearing those words. Everything about today was perfect and Chloe knows it will be a day that she never forgets, ever.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 more chapter after this one! Thank you again to everyone reading/commenting!

_*5 months ago*_

As soon as Chloe started talking about Beca again, Aubrey knew she was going to have to say something eventually. The guilt has been swallowing her whole the closer the two get. Chloe is so unbearably happy and in love and Aubrey wants nothing more than to be happy for her. She just needs to say her piece first, knowing Chloe though, this isn’t going to be easy.

The second Aubrey told Beca to get in her car and drive away that day, she had a sinking feeling. Aubrey wasn’t too sure why, but all she did know was that she did not want anything ruining that special day for her best friend. It all made sense when they got together. She hadn’t meant to hurt Chloe. Aubrey can see how much Beca means to the red head, she never felt that way about Chicago, not for a moment.

Aubrey has been sitting on the sofa waiting nervously for Chloe to get home from work. Stacie has been hovering over her all afternoon, assuring her everything will be ok. She’s the only other person besides herself that knows what happened that day.

After what feels like forever, she sees Chloe’s car pull into the driveway. Her heart rate picks up when she hears keys jingling outside the front door.

“Hey Chlo,” Aubrey greets the red head as normally as she can, cursing herself for the way her voice is wavering already.

Instead of heading upstairs to put her stuff away and change out of her scrubs, she heads into the living room, “Hey Bree, have a good day off?”

“Can we talk, when you’re ready?” Aubrey’s not sure she even heard what her best friend asked her, too nervous to do anything but blurt it all out.

Chloe gives her a weird look, she probably is wondering why the blonde is so squirrely, “Sure, we can talk now.”

Aubrey scoots over to make room and Chloe sits down next to her, “So I have something I need to tell you.”

“Ok…” Chloe says tentatively, “you’re worrying me Aubrey.”

Aubrey can’t handle looking into those trusting blue eyes right now, so her gaze drops to her hands lying in her lap, “On your wedding day, I didn’t tell you, but Beca showed up.”

She can sense the Chloe tensing up next to her, “She was there? What happened, how do you know?”

“I had gone outside for some fresh air and I saw her drive up,” Aubrey takes a deep breath before continuing, “she looked rough, like she’d been driving for a while, she clearly wasn’t there just to be at the wedding, so I talked to her.”

The two sit in silence for a moment while Aubrey collects her thoughts. She can’t bear to look up at Chloe’s face, scared of what she’ll see, but she can see her hands which are balled up into tight fists.

“She wanted to see you, she was going to tell you…” Aubrey’s voice is quivering, and she pauses before saying the rest, “she was going to tell you she was in love with you. I told her to go home.”

“What?” Chloe says in disbelief, trying to process the blonde’s words.

“I was only trying to protect you Chloe, I swear,” Aubrey pleads, finally looking at Chloe and she wishes she hadn’t, “If I had known how you felt I would have never told her to go.”

Hot, angry tears are rolling down her best friend’s face, “Maybe that wasn’t your place to decide! You should have let her see me!”

“I know, I’m so sorry Chloe,” Aubrey is crying now too, “I didn’t want her to ruin your wedding day…”

“I was still in love with her!” Chloe barks, standing up, she throws her hands in the air, “All those wasted years…oh my god.”

Aubrey knows she’s just processing everything, but she can’t remember the last time Chloe was this angry. It might have been back in their senior year of college when Chloe finally stood up to her over Aubrey’s “Bella dictatorship”.

“I’m so sorry,” Aubrey says weakly, there’s not much more she can do. All she can do is hope that Chloe comes around and doesn’t stay mad at her.

“I just need to go to Beca’s right now,” Chloe turns away from her quickly, grabbing her bag from the floor to leave, “I’m hoping you’ll watch my son.”

Aubrey nods, “Of course Chlo.”

Her best friend storms back out the front door and Aubrey lets the dam break. Tears start flowing and she feels Stacie’s arms wrap around her. That was harder than she thought.

************

Chloe flies out of her car and up to Beca’s front door. She hadn’t even checked if the brunette is home, Chloe just prays that she is. Luckily, the door opens to reveal a pleasantly confused Beca, who frowns the moment she sees Chloe’s tears.

“Chlo, what’s wrong?”

Chloe steps inside, the door shutting behind her, “Why didn’t you ever tell me you showed up at my wedding?”

Realization washes over Beca’s face, “Aubrey told you?”

The red head nods, tears still staining her cheeks.

“What’s done is done, I couldn’t go back and change it,” Beca says carefully, “I didn’t think it would matter.”

“We could have been together so much sooner,” Chloe croaks, her heart breaking.

Beca pulls her into her arms, trying to comfort her tense, crying girlfriend, “I know, but that’s not what was meant to be I guess.”

“I’m just so mad at her,” she’s just so overcome with feeling, she can’t even think straight.

“You know she was just trying to protect you right?” Beca says quietly, her hands rubbing soft circles on her back.

“How was that protecting me?” Chloe doesn’t mean to say it as harshly as she did, but Beca tenses at her tone.

Beca pulls away from her and takes her hand, “Let’s go sit down, come on.”

Chloe let’s her girlfriend pull her down onto the sofa in her living room, the younger woman’s arms quickly enveloping her. Beca doesn’t say anything, just lets her cry it out. They stay wrapped up on the sofa for quite a while, until Chloe has no more tears to cry.

She feels Beca’s fingers on her face, attempting to wipe away some of the moisture, “I know you might not want to hear this, but I think what Aubrey did was the right thing.”

Chloe sniffles, sitting up slightly to look at her, “Why?”

“Neither of us would have been in a good place for this back then,” Beca looks deep in thought, “it would have been so much harder, you would have had to dump Chicago on your wedding day. We were living on opposite sides of the country. Not to mention, I was basically clinically insane that day, I had driven for almost two days straight.”

“But we would have made it work,” she knows they would have; this is worth it.

“Of course we would have, but she was trying to protect you, when have you ever known Aubrey to do something that would purposely hurt you?”

Shit. Of course, she’s right. Aubrey is such a constant in her life, she’s Chloe’s biggest supporter.

“I know, you’re right,” Chloe admits, wiping more of the wayward tears off her face.

“Another thing to think about,” Beca takes her hand in hers, lacing their fingers together tightly, “we wouldn’t have Amelia or Christopher right now if we had gotten together back then.”

It hits Chloe like a ton of bricks, of course they wouldn’t have their kids, and she can’t imagine her life without those two little ones, “Oh my god, Becs, we wouldn’t have them.”

Beca shakes her head, “Nope, we wouldn’t. Everything happens for a reason Chlo.”

“Ugh why do you have to make so much sense?” Chloe jokes, suddenly feeling better about everything.

“It’s a gift and a curse,” Beca smirks.

“What if we wouldn’t have found our way back to each other?” Choe can’t help but wonder.

“You know our crazy friends would have eventually pushed us back together, they hated us being apart as much as we did,” the Bellas really didn’t like the awkward split, Beca is probably right again.

Silence sweeps over them, Beca still holding onto her tightly. Chloe feels safe and protected, and most important so very loved. She has Beca now, what’s done is done. Maybe she shouldn’t have lashed out at Aubrey as hard as she did.

“Thanks Becs,” Chloe mumbles into the brunette’s shoulder.

“No problem, you know I’m always here for you,” Beca kisses the top of her head lightly.

“I know I should go home and talk to Aubrey, but can I just stay here tonight?” Chloe doesn’t think she can handle it right now, she still needs to cool off a bit.

“Of course,” Beca doesn’t even think twice about it.

The next morning Chloe wakes up confused, she’s not in her room. She feels an arm draped around her midsection, Beca’s arm. Everything about yesterday comes rushing back. Chloe slowly pushes her girlfriend’s arm off her and slowly sits up. She’s in a pair of Beca’s pajama pants and tank top, since she angrily drove here in her scrubs last night.

“Hey, morning,” Beca rolls over to look at her, her voice scratchy from sleep.

“Morning,” Chloe, replies with a yawn.

“You work today?” Beca grabs her phone off the nightstand to check it.

“Shit. Yea I do, what time is it?” she forgot to set an alarm, she really hopes she didn’t oversleep.

“It’s 7,” she replies lazily, scrolling through something on her phone.

Relief washes over her, she should be there at 8 but her first patient isn’t until 9.

Still she better get going, “Ok, I’m going to shower and get going. Can I borrow some clothes?”

“Of course baby, take whatever you need,” Beca says, throwing her phone down and rolling back into her pillow, she’s probably going to be asleep again by the time Chloe is ready.

Chloe gets ready as fast as she can. She’s sure she looks a little off, but it’ll work, she’ll probably end up changing into scrubs later in the day anyways. There’s not a lot of glamour when you’re a vet. Beca is sleeping when she makes her way back into the bedroom, so she walks over to the bed and places a kiss on her head before heading out to her car.

************

It was a pretty boring, normal day at work, which didn’t help in keeping Chloe’s thoughts away from Aubrey. She can hardly wait to get home and talk to her best friend. Her head is clear today, there are no hard feelings. Aubrey must still be feeling awful and she wants nothing more than to assure the blonde that it’s all ok.

Chloe waits impatiently outside Christopher’s school, wanting to get home as quickly as she can. It feels like forever before she sees bouncing red curls and a smiling freckled face run up to the car. Chloe gets out and gets her son situated in the back. He talks excitedly about recess and lunch, and the art project they started that afternoon. Chloe tries so hard to pay attention to him but her mind wanders back to Aubrey.

When they finally make it back home, to Chloe’s relief, Aubrey’s car is in the driveway. Christopher flies out of the car and into the house, she follows behind taking her time. Aubrey is nowhere to be seen when she walks through the door. Chloe checks the kitchen, the backyard, the office and then heads upstairs.

She pauses briefly outside the door to Aubrey and Stacie’s bedroom, what if Aubrey is mad at her now?

Chloe knocks lightly on the door, “Bree, you in there?”

The door opens slowly, revealing a sad looking Aubrey.

Her expression changes entirely when she sees it’s Chloe, the blonde throws her arms around her pulling her tightly into her body, “You scared the crap out of me! I thought you died in a ditch or something! You didn’t tell me where you were!”

Chloe pulls away sheepishly, she really should have let Aubrey know she was staying at Beca’s last night, “I’m sorry, I should have told you.”

“I finally called Beca this morning and thank god, she said you left her house this morning for work,” Aubrey is looking at her sternly now.

“Bree, I’m so sorry, for that and for everything. I shouldn’t have blown up on you,” Chloe tries to convey how sincere she is with her tone, “you were only thinking of me, none of that matters anymore. I have Beca now, and I have you and Christopher, and that’s all that matters.”

Aubrey’s face softens now, she looks relieved, “I was so worried you were going to hate me for it, for a long time. I’m so sorry I kept her from you Chlo.”

Chloe shakes her head dismissively, “I could never hate you, it’s ok Bree, plus Beca made a good point last night, I wouldn’t have Christopher or Amelia if we had gotten together back then.”

“That’s true, and they’re both pretty great,” Aubrey smiles, voice shaky with pent up nerves and emotion.

“Yea they are,” Chloe pulls the blonde into another tight hug, “thank you for always watching out for me, for always having my back. I don’t deserve a friend as good as you.”

“I do it cause I love you, you’re my family,” Aubrey says quietly, hugging the red head back.

“I love you too Bree, I couldn’t ask for a better family.”

They stand in the doorway to Aubrey’s bedroom hugging and Chloe’s world falls in to place again. She’ll never be able to ex Aubrey out of her life, no matter how bad she screws up and she hopes that her best friend feels the same about her. They are family and for that Chloe is forever grateful.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU to everyone who has read/commented/left kudos and followed this story! I got a little carried away with it being the last chapter, but I hope you'll enjoy the extra long ending! I loved writing this story so much, and there will be a sequel in the near future, so keep an eye out for it! I truly hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)

It’s been a year since Chloe and Beca’s wedding, it honestly has been the best year of Chloe’s life. Chloe finally has exactly what she’s been dreaming of for so long. She loves being married to Beca. The kids are doing great as well, Amelia and Christopher are practically joined at the hip, they’ve adjusted so well. Chloe loves their little family with all her heart, but lately she’s really had the feeling she wants to expand their family. She’s just hoping that maybe Beca feels the same way.

It’s a week before Amelia’s 7th birthday, Beca and Chloe are currently wandering the aisles of a party store, looking for unicorn decorations. Thank god the little girl picked a universally popular theme; it shouldn’t be too hard to find all the supplies they need. The next aisle they turn down isn’t what they’re looking for. It’s baby shower decorations, all pale pink, blue, yellow and green baby animals, storks and weird cartoonish looking babies. Chloe’s eyes land on a small, pink and yellow stuffed elephant. Her hand reaches out to touch it, her heart soaring at the thought of buying it for a future baby.

Beca notices her staring, she rests a hand on Chloe’s shoulder, “It’s cute, isn’t it?”

“I want to have a baby with you,” Chloe’s cheeks burn red as the words fly out of her mouth before she can even consider stopping them.

Beca looks momentarily stunned, but Chloe can tell she’s trying not to let the shock show, “Really?”

Chloe thinks about taking the words back, but why should she? She’s been thinking of this for a while now, she knows she wants it.

“Yea, I want another baby,” Chloe says honestly.

Beca reaches past Chloe and grabs the pink and yellow elephant off the shelf, putting it into their cart, “Ok, let’s have a baby.”

Now it’s Chloe’s turn to be surprised, “Really?”

“Yea really, let’s do it,” Beca blushes now, “I’ve actually been thinking about asking you if you wanted more kids for a while now.”

Chloe can’t resist herself; she leans forward and presses a quick kiss to Beca’s lips, “You don’t know how happy that makes me.”

The two finish up their shopping, finding all the unicorn themed things a seven-year-old could ever want. As they load all the bags into the back of Beca’s car, Chloe can’t help herself from grabbing the little stuffed elephant from the one of the bags. Beca smiles at her knowingly.

“So,” Beca says nervously as they start driving away from the party store.

“So?” Chloe parrots back, wondering why she seems so anxious.

Beca’s hands grip tighter around the steering wheel, “So about the baby thing…I don’t think I can be the one to carry it.”

Beca looks sheepish, Chloe is sorry she feels so bad, but it doesn’t make a difference to her, “Becs, that’s ok. I don’t care, I’m more than happy to do it.”

The brunette looks relieved, “Ok good. I just…I had a placental abruption my last pregnancy, my chances of having another are pretty high, and my chances of actually getting pregnant are slimmer.”

Chloe had known that Beca had complications with Amelia, she had no clue how serious they had been.

“Oh, I’m sorry Beca,” Chloe extends her hand over to Beca, who gladly moves a hand off the wheel to take it, “I have no problem being the one to be pregnant. My pregnancy and delivery went as smoothly as they can.”

Chloe is a little disappointed they won’t ever have any more children with dark brown hair, steely blue grey eyes and an attitude the size of Texas, but she doesn’t let the disappointment show through.

Beca smiles at Chloe squeezing her hand, “It’s ok, you make really cute babies anyways.”

“Oh, I know I do,” Chloe smirks, pecking Beca on the cheek, trying not to distract her from focusing on the road.

************

Chloe’s head spins, completely overwhelmed by the vast amount of donor profiles on the laptop in front of her and her wife. She clicks on the first profile, quickly scanning the medical history and background. He’s a musician, that’s a plus considering how much music means to them both. She makes a mental note of that one as a maybe.

Chloe glances over at Beca who is also reading through some profiles on her phone, “I had no idea picking a sperm donor would be this…difficult.”

“It makes me wish I could just get you pregnant,” Beca grumbles, tapping on profile after profile, “then we wouldn’t need all this.”

“You’re kind of missing some important hardware for that babe,” Chloe giggles, but completely gets where Beca is coming from, she wishes this could be their baby 100%.

Beca looks over at Chloe, a mischievous glint in her eyes, “Well my “hardware” is upstairs in our dresser right now,” she quips smoothly not missing a beat.

Chloe’s not usually this easily flustered, but her cheeks burn and the image of Beca wearing their strap on sends shivers down her spine, “Bec.”

“What?” Beca looks at her innocently.

Chloe just shakes her head and reads the next profile she selected. It’s been almost two weeks since they decided to have another baby. Of course, they had had a serious conversation besides the impulse decision in the middle of the party store.

Both Beca and Chloe decided there was no time like the present. Beca is between albums, so there won’t be too much that will require her to leave while Chloe is pregnant and after the baby is born. Chloe has garnered enough flexibility in her job in the past few years as she’s gained more experience and seniority, so it won’t be too hard for her either.

Most importantly though, they had a serious conversation with Amelia and Christopher. They went about it carefully, asking the two first graders how they felt about possibly having another brother or sister. Amelia had jumped up and down excitedly at the tiniest mention, saying how she would love a baby, promising she would take care of it, like they had offered her a puppy. Christopher had been a little more quiet about it, but after a little more talking, he had also been quite excited at the prospect of having a little sister or brother. 

Chloe made a doctor’s appointment almost immediately after, since she needed to have some preliminary tests run before she could consider proceeding with insemination. She had “passed” all the tests with flying colors, so they’ve moved onto the donor selection phase.

“You know we really should just like draw straws or something,” Beca throws her phone down on the couch, “whoever we pick is it, I honestly don’t care whose swimmers we use.”

Chloe rolls her eyes, her wife being dramatic as ever, “It kind of does matter Becs, let’s at least narrow it down to a few top candidates before we do the blind selection method.”

“Ugh, ok,” Beca replies, scooting closer to Chloe so they can both look at the laptop sitting on the red head’s legs.

After looking through profiles until they are bleary eyed, the two narrow it down to one of two candidates. The final decision comes down to looks, kind of vain, but it was important for them to find someone that looked at least similar to Beca. It was something Chloe had wanted, not so much Beca. It’s still a shot in the dark, you don’t get to see pictures, they had to go by description. In the end though, Chloe thinks they picked the right one. Beca’s not wrong either, it doesn’t _really_ matter whose sperm they use. Chloe and Beca will be over the moon with any baby they have.

************

The next few weeks are a flurry of anticipation. Both Chloe and Beca have been anxiously awaiting insemination. Chloe’s been tracking her cycle with an app and today is supposed to be _the day._ They had set a tentative appointment with the doctor, she still has to take a couple at home tests to make sure all her levels are where they should be.

Chloe wakes up excitedly that morning, immediately rolling out of bed and into the en suite bathroom to get ready for the day. She grabs an ovulation test from the box on the counter. Chloe does what she needs to for the test, then goes about her business, brushing her teeth and doing her makeup, while she waits for the test to be ready.

When her hair and makeup is done, she looks down at the test and squeals in delight when she sees what it reads. She knew it was most likely going to be positive, but she’s still so happy. Chloe flies back into the bedroom, jumping onto the bed with a thud.

Beca groans and rolls over, her voice tired and gravely, “Chlo, what the hell?”

“It’s time to make a baby!” Chloe yelps, flinging herself next to Beca, who squirms when she’s pulled into the older woman’s grasp. 

Beca’s eyes light up with realization and she pulls Chloe back to look at her, “Oh shit! Really?”

Chloe bites her lip and smiles brightly, unable to contain her excitement.

“Ok, well let’s get the kids to school” Beca throws the blankets back and sits up, “then we’ve got to go get you pregnant!”

About an hour later, Chloe is sitting with her feet in stirrups, the table angled up slightly, so her hips are pointed into the air. It’s an uncomfortable situation, but she’ll do whatever she has to do to get pregnant.

“How are you doing?” Beca asks for the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes since the doctor left the room.

Chloe shrugs, her arms rubbing against the paper on the table, making a loud crinkling noise, “Same since the last time you asked.”

Beca bites her lip nervously, “Sorry. It just looks uncomfortable.”

“It’s ok, I know,” Chloe smiles up at her worried wife, who has been hovering by her side since it happened, “and it is, but I want a baby.”

“I’m so proud of you for doing all this, I’m grateful,” Beca smiles back, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Chloe earnestly replies.

“You know,” Beca says slowly, a mischievous grin now plastered on her face, “I was doing some research on all this…apparently orgasms are really good at getting it to work.”

Chloe quirks an eyebrow, a flash of heat already running through her at the idea, “Is that so?”

Beca nods, “Yea. Maybe you should have one?”

“You’re right,” Chloe plays along, her voice sultry, “I wonder how I could go about that.”

“I might have a few ideas,” Beca’s tone sending another shockwave through her, “but I think we should leave the doctor’s first.”

“Hmm, I like that idea,” Chloe purrs, suddenly very anxious for their time to be up.

************

“Fuck!” Chloe’s voice rings past the closed bathroom door and into the bedroom where Beca is still semi-sleeping.

Beca pries her eyes open the whole way, startled by her wife. She thinks she might hear soft crying now. The sound makes her jolt out of bed and over to the bathroom door.

“Chlo? Everything ok?” Beca says softly through the closed door.

“No,” Chloe replies firmly, Beca can tell she is in fact crying.

The sharp answer speaks volumes, so Beca pushes the door open. Chloe is sitting on the floor in front of the shower, head in her hands. Beca quickly goes to sit next to her, pulling the red head into her arms.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” she asks her crying wife carefully.

Chloe sniffles loudly, wiping the tears from her cheeks, “I’m not pregnant.”

“Did you take a test?” Beca didn’t see any evidence of one when she walked in.

She shakes her head angrily, “No, I got my period.”

Beca pulls her in tightly again as a new wave of tears start, “Hey, it’s ok Chlo. We can try again.”

“I know…I just wanted it so bad,” Chloe sobs the words incoherently into Beca’s shoulder, her shirt there is already soaked through with tears.

************

Round two. The situation seems eerily familiar, except this time both women are a little more anxious than the last. Beca can tell Chloe is tense, which isn’t going to help anything.

“Chlo, you’ve got to try and relax,” Beca rubs her shoulder as she lies reclined on the table, feet and hips in the air once again, “you know that helps.”

“I know,” Chloe grumbles, “I’m just so nervous what if it doesn’t work again? What if I can’t get pregnant either?”

“Hey, then that’s ok,” Beca strokes her hand through her wife’s red locks in a soothing manner, “but the doctor said it shouldn’t be a problem, all your levels and numbers are right where they should be. It doesn’t always work the first time.”

“But what if it never works,” Chloe says softly, still not convinced that it was normal for it to not work the first time.

“Then we will talk about other options,” Beca replies calmly, “you can go through fertility treatments, or we can look into adoption…or we can talk to the doctor about the possibility of me being pregnant.”

Chloe grabs Beca’s hand from where she is lying reclined, “Becs, you can’t do that, I don’t want you to risk it. I’ll just have fertility treatments.”

“Let’s just see what happens first,” Beca doesn’t want them to jump to any conclusion before giving this all a fair shake.

Beca has a good feeling about it this time, even though Chloe is tense and stressed. It just feels right this time. Also, Beca doesn’t think she can handle seeing her wife so broken again. It needs to work this time.

************

Both Beca and Chloe huddle around the line of pregnancy tests lying on the bathroom counter. Only one more minute and they will be ready.

“I can’t look,” Chloe steps back and turns away, “tell me what they say.”

“Ok, you sure?” Beca asks, her own heart pounding wildly in anticipation.

Chloe nods, her head already turned away.

The timer on Beca’s phone goes off and she looks to the first test, her heart sinking.

_Not Pregnant_

She looks at the next one.

_Not Pregnant_

Then the third one, maybe the first two were a fluke.

_Not Pregnant._

Beca’s frustration starts rising to the top. She wants to wipe them all onto the floor, she wants to cry, but she can’t. She has to be the strong one.

“What do they say?” Chloe’s voice waivers, her back still turned.

Beca tries to speak, but nothing comes out. She grabs a test and puts it into the red head’s hands. She hears a small disappointed sigh, Chloe’s shoulders slumping.

“We can try again?” Beca offers, “We can keep taking tests until we are sure.”

Chloe drops the test and it clatters loudly on the tile floor, “Why even bother?”

Beca turns around to comfort her, but Chloe has already left the bathroom. When she leaves the bathroom, her wife is face down on their bed, small whimpers leaving her. Beca crawls onto the bed next to her and wraps her arms around her.

How is it so easy for people to get pregnant without even trying, but when you try to do it intentionally it doesn’t work? It’s a sad joke. Neither Amelia or Christopher were planned, they just happened. Now here they are, finally together, right where they should be and ready to have kids, and they can’t make it work. There has to be something else they can do.

************

Chloe has seemingly given up. She took more tests and they all came up negative, and then she got her period again a few days later. The red head is defeated, she hasn’t even mentioned it again. Beca doesn’t want her to give up, she knows how much they both want it. She knows Chloe can get pregnant.

So, Beca has been doing research. The more and more she’s read, it looks like lots of people have had success with at home inseminations. She was kind of surprised it is a thing, but the more she read, she’s thinking it could work. Now she just has to convince Chloe of it.

“Chlo,” Beca calls from her spot on the sofa, “can you come here?”

“Yea,” Chloe calls back, making her way into the living room from the kitchen.

Chloe sits down next to her and Beca places her laptop into her wife’s lap, “I think we should give this a go.”

Beca had saved a few of the best articles and left them open for Chloe to read, as well as a couple very informative videos. She watches as the older woman scans each of them, a small smile forming on her lips.

“I didn’t even know you could do this at home,” Chloe mutters, still focusing intently on the computer screen.

“Me either,” Beca shakes her head.

She waits a few minutes for Chloe to digest all the information, but watches her closely the whole time, anxious to hear her thoughts.

“Ok, let’s do it,” Chloe says abruptly, setting the laptop down on the coffee table in front of them.

“Really?” Beca is surprised she agreed so readily.

Chloe nods, “I like that it would be here, where we would both be comfortable. It would be on our time and I like how it would feel more like loving…than sterile? If you know what I mean?”

She must have read the multiple sources about how orgasms are supposed to effective and that you should have them before and after insemination. Beca liked that too. It would make it feel more personal, just the two of them making a baby. Making love to her wife and ‘getting her pregnant’ is the dream and this is the closest they could come to it.

“I know exactly what you mean,” Beca smiles.

“Thank you for doing this Becs,” Chloe plays with the wedding ring on her finger, not looking up at Beca, “I was being stubborn, thank you for still trying.”

Beca grabs Chloe’s hand to stop her nervous fidgeting, “You weren’t being stubborn, you were upset, understandably so. I wanted to help.”

“Well thank you,” Chloe says again, kissing Beca soundly.

Beca lets herself be swept up by the feeling of Chloe’s lips against hers, the feeling never getting old. It’s over far too quick for her liking, Chloe pulls away, eyes sparkling again for the first time in a week.

************

The day of their attempt at home insemination, both Beca and Chloe are so excited, the good anxious feeling they both felt the first time is back. Chloe has been taking ovulation tests every day for the past few days, this morning it came back positive. Tonight would be the night.

Their special tank with donor sperm, arrived a couple days ago and has been waiting patiently in their bedroom. Beca has been so nervous about it, she doesn’t want to do anything wrong. Sperm is evidently very finicky and there are so many things that she could do to screw it up. She’s been diligent in her research though, and Beca is sure she can do it correctly.

“Aubrey is coming to pick up the kids after dinner,” Chloe tells her, as she pours herself a travel mug of coffee before heading out the door, “I thought it would be easier to do it without them here, we can put all our attention on doing this right.”

“Perfect,” she should have thought of that, at least Chloe did.

Chloe pecks her on the lips before grabbing her bag before leaving for work, “I’ll see you later…I can’t wait to make a baby with you.”

Beca smiles widely, “I can’t wait either, have a good day Chlo.”

The day drags along so slowly, Beca just wants to get to tonight. When Chloe finally gets home after work Beca practically jumps out of her skin with excitement.

Both women make their way through dinner as quick as possible, trying not to hurry Amelia or Christopher. Aubrey finally rings the doorbell around 6:30. Beca tries not to shove their children out of the door…but she gets them out quickly. It’s not too hard, both kids are excited for a sleep over at Auntie Aubrey and Auntie Stacie’s.

Beca works quickly to get everything ready after the kids are gone. She gets the sperm out of the tank and sets it aside to thaw. She gets the syringe ready and sets it out next to the little thawing vial on her nightstand.

Chloe waltzes into the bedroom when Beca finally has everything set out, “You ready to make a baby Mitchell?”

Beca strides over to her pulling her into a searing kiss, “Oh you know I am,” she breaks the kiss breathlessly, “we have a half an hour until it’s all thawed and ready.”

“Whatever are we going to do with all that time,” Chloe pulls Beca back into a deep kiss, her tongue slipping into Beca’s mouth almost immediately.

Beca kisses Chloe back feverishly, the heated exchange spiking her arousal already. She feels Chloe’s hands start to wander, sliding up her back and under her shirt, until they are skating around her front, landing on her ribs just below her breasts. Beca grabs Chloe’s shoulders and starts moving them backwards, until Chloe’s legs hit the bed and she tumbles backwards.

Chloe quickly sits back up, stripping her shirt off and her pants, leaving her in just a bra and panties.

“Someone is eager,” Beca jokes, pulling her own shirt over her head, wanting to feel Chloe’s skin against hers.

“Maybe I am, can you blame me,” Chloe says roughly, eyes dark with desire already.

Beca pulls her own pants down quickly and moves to straddle Chloe who has scooted into the middle of the bed. Chloe’s lips find hers quickly, kissing her deeply. Beca skims her hands up and down Chloe’s sides, until they finally land on her still bra covered breasts. She rubs her thumb over the nipple already straining against silky fabric.

Chloe pulls away from Beca’s lips breathless, “Take it off.”

Beca doesn’t wait to hear her ask again, her hands already finding their way to the clasp. She pulls it off quickly, tossing it to the side.

“You are beautiful,” Beca takes the time to stare at soft mounds and stiff, pink peaks before moving her hand to one and her mouth onto the other.

Chloe moans loudly at the sensation. Her hand moves to Beca’s head, her fingers curling into brunette locks to hold her wife’s face where it is. Before Beca moves her head to Chloe’s other breast, she looks at her phone she propped up on the nightstand, they have ten more minutes before they have to use the sperm. Twenty minutes has seemingly flown by, she better get the show moving. Beca tips her head down to Chloe’s other breast, not wanted to neglect it. Chloe still moaning softly at her actions.

Beca’s lifts her face away from Chloe’s chest, “Ok this is going to sound weird, but I read that some people inseminate with their legs up on the wall and hips pointed up, so maybe we should…”

“Makes sense,” Chloe is breathless, her cheeks rosy.

The red head shoves her panties down and Beca helps drag them all the way down her legs, tossing them to the side with her bra. Chloe slides around and places her feet up against the headboard. Beca grabs a pillow and helps slide it under her hips to get the angle right. Her mouth goes dry when she sees how wet and ready Chloe is already. The insides of her thighs already glistening. A shot of arousal courses through her, her own panties already soaked. Right now is about Chloe though, she needs to get off before and after insemination.

Beca moves a hand between her wife’s legs, the position is weird with her facing the headboard and Beca kneeling next to her awkwardly, but they’ll have to make it work. She wants to do anything she can to make this work.

She cups her gently at first, Chloe groans trying to grind up into Beca’s touch. They don’t have time to tease, so Beca finds her clit and rubs small tight circles. Chloe gasps, her mouth dropping open and eyes closing.

“Oh god, Beca,” Chloe moans, her hips bucking.

Beca looks at her phone on the nightstand, only a few minutes left before it’s ready. She doubles down on her efforts, adding a couple fingers into the mix. Chloe whimpers at the added stimulation.

“I’m cl…close,” Chloe stutters.

“Good, come for me baby,” Beca urges her, not letting up on the action between the red head’s legs.

Beca curls her fingers every time she pulls them back out, knowing the exact spot she has to hit to make Chloe see stars. She keeps circling her clit with her thumb, the two actions combined has her shaking. Chloe comes with a relieved cry moments later, her whole body stiffening. Beca keeps rubbing at her softly, helping her through it.

Chloe’s still making her way through the tail end of her climax but Beca has to move quick, so she leans over to the nightstand, grabbing the little vial and syringe. Her hands shake as the uncaps it and sticks the syringe in, slowing pulling the plunger up, making sure to get every drop. When its full, she sets the vial back down and moves over between Chloe’s legs again.

“You ready Chlo?” Beca asks softly.

Chloe nods and Beca carefully inserts the syringe into her, pressing the plunger down. She pulls it back out moments later and sets it aside. Beca leans down to Chloe’s face, giving her a passionate kiss. She hates the weird angle, so she lies down next to Chloe, propping her feet on the headboard next to hers.

Chloe eagerly reconnects their lips and Beca’s hand slides down her stomach, until it’s back in soft, wet heat. Chloe squeaks in surprise, but melts into the unexpected touch, she knows that she has to have another orgasm. Beca knows she’s more sensitive and it won’t take as long this time. She rubs softly at her clit, running down to her entrance and back up again. Chloe moans into Beca’s mouth, loving the pattern. After a minute or two of that, her hips are bucking up into Beca’s touch again. Beca focuses on her clit this time, not wanting to disturb anything by pushing a finger or two into her. She’s not sure if it will, but she’s not about to take any chances.

Chloe breaks their seemingly endless kiss finally, breathing hard, “I love you,” her voice is shaky.

“I love you too,” Beca says roughly, she’s so turned on by this whole experience she might just come without Chloe even having really touched her.

It’s not much longer before Chloe’s second orgasm crashes down around her. She cries out Beca’s name, shaking with aftershocks. Beca can’t help herself, her other hand flies down between her own legs, pressing down against herself through soaked fabric. She’s so ready already, it only takes a few strokes and Beca is coming as well.

Both women breath hard, staring up at the ceiling, their feet still against the headboard.

Chloe laces their fingers together, “That was perfect Becs.”

“It really was,” Beca replies dreamily, she has such a good feeling about this.

She knows they made a baby tonight; she just knows it.

************

Beca and Chloe are back in the bathroom, a fresh row of pregnancy tests lined up on the counter. They’re both on edge, hoping that their attempt at getting Chloe pregnant has worked. Much like last time, Beca’s alarm goes off but Chloe doesn’t turn her back this time.

“Do you want me to look first?” Beca asks, careful not to look down at them yet.

Chloe simply nods, Beca knows she’s really nervous.

Beca finally looks down and isn’t able to hold the gasp back. Every single test says the same thing:

_Pregnant._

“Chloe just look down,” Beca urges her.

The red head listens and her eyes glance down at the tests. Beca watches her carefully. Chloe’s hand flies up to cover her mouth, a relieved, elated sob escapes her.

“We’re going to have a baby,” she manages to cry, pulling Beca into her tightly.

Beca hugs her back just as tight, her own happy tears rolling down her face. They did it, they’re really going to have a baby.

************

Chloe really forgot how agonizing those first few months of pregnancy are. She’s been so nauseous and sick, she’s always tired and she’s got two kids and a job to worry about still. It’s made her kind of a bear to be around, but her wonderful wife has taken it in stride.

Beca always wakes up and holds her hair back when Chloe is inevitably sick every morning. When she gets back from work in the evening, Beca always has dinner ready and urges Chloe to relax all night. Beca rubs her feet and her back and makes sure the kids get their homework done. Chloe didn’t get to experience any of this with Christopher. Yea, she had Aubrey and Stacie but it was different. No one was holding her hair back while she puked, no one was rubbing her feet and showering her with adoration.

The kids have been very anxious and worried about Chloe’s state. They’ve both tried to reassure them that their mommy is fine, but Chloe knows they have to tell them soon. One Saturday morning, Chloe was throwing up and Christopher wandered in the bathroom. He rubbed her back and asked her why she was still sick. He’s worried about his mom and so is Amelia.

Which is why all four of them are seated around the kitchen table right now. Beca and Chloe decide it was safe to tell them, especially since Chloe is almost to the point where she’s “out of the woods” and can start telling people.

“So guys,” Chloe looks at the two eager first graders across from them, “your momma and I have some news to share with you.”

“What is it?” Amelia squeaks, unable to hold back her excitement.

“You guys are going to have a little brother or sister,” Beca beams, watching both the kids faces light up as well.

“Yay!” Christopher and Amelia cheer, sliding around happily in their seats.

“You guys know how I haven’t been feeling very good lately?” Chloe asks.

They both nod at her, concern written on their faces at the mention of it.

“That’s because the baby is growing inside of my tummy,” Chloe explains, “and it’s going to make me feel funny for a while.”

“And you need to be extra nice to your mommy right now, because she feels icky,” Beca makes sure to add, always protective of her.

“How does the baby fit in their right now?” Christopher asks dumbfounded.

Chloe tries not to laugh at the question, “The baby is really small right now, but it’s going to get bigger and when it does my tummy will too.”

“That’s weird,” Amelia laughs, “will the baby always make you feel icky?”

Chloe shakes her head no, “No not always.”

“Oh good,” the little girl looks relieved at her answer.

“When will it be out of your tummy?” Christopher asks, he’s always been very inquisitive.

“In seven months,” Beca jumps in to answer, “which will be right around Thanksgiving but before Christmas.”

“That’s so long!” Amelia exclaims, making both women laugh.

“It is a really long time,” Chloe agrees.

They all stay quiet for a moment, waiting to see if the kids have any more questions.

After a few moments of silence, Chloe makes sure to let them know they can always ask her more questions, “If you guys think of any other question, you can ask either of us, ok?”

They both nod, brilliant smiles on their faces. They are going to make excellent older siblings; Chloe can already tell.

************

Chloe sits anxiously on the paper coated exam table, her hands settled on her small but ever-growing bump. Today is the day they get to find out the sex of the baby. Chloe didn’t find out with Christopher, she waited until the birth. Beca had done the opposite with Amelia. They came to a quick decision that they wanted to find out beforehand this time.

There’s a light knock at the door before it opens, Dr. Stevenson, the doctor who saw Chloe through her first pregnancy, walks in, “Chloe, Beca, good to see you guys. How have things been going?”

“Good, I haven’t been feeling as sick or tired lately,” Chloe replies.

Dr. Stevenson looks down at the chart she’s holding, “Probably because you are almost in your second trimester. If you remember from last time, that’s when things will be a bit easier.”

“We get to find out the sex today right?” Beca confirms, Chloe’s sure she’ll throw a fit if the doctor says no, she’s been so excited.

“We sure do, are you guys ready to find out what you’re having?” Dr. Stevenson asks as she heads over to the ultrasound machine already set up next to the exam table.

“Yes,” Chloe replies quickly, already pulling up her shirt.

She feels Beca’s eyes on her stomach, the brunette resists the urge to reach out and cradle her bump. Steely eyes bounce back up to hers and the wind is knocked out of her at Beca’s loving gaze.

Their little moment is broken when Chloe yelps out of surprise as the doctor squirts cold, clear gel onto her lower abdomen.

“Sorry, it’s a little cold,” the doctor smiles as her and grabs the wand to hold it to Chloe’s stomach.

“It’s ok, I was just caught off guard,” Chloe laughs, feeling stupid for being so distracted.

Dr. Stevenson moves the wand around her stomach, staring at the screen intently.

After a few moments she turns the screen so Beca and Chloe can see, “There’s a foot, a hand and their head,” she moves the wand over, the image on the screen changing, “and it looks like you are going to have a girl!”

Chloe’s heart melts at the words, happy tears already springing into her eyes.

She feels Beca’s hand grasp hers, “We’re going to have a little girl Chlo.”

************

Today is operation paint and decorate the nursery day. Beca has enlisted the help of all the available Bellas, they need all the help they can get. To be honest, everything kind of snuck up on them with how busy they are. Suddenly, Chloe was in her third trimester and they still didn’t have a place for the baby. Chloe had initiated many trips to the store for baby stuff, so they have almost everything they need, they just need to set it up.

“Amy be careful!” Chloe palms her forehead exasperatedly as a big glob of light-yellow paint goes flying off the tip of her paintbrush and onto the dark hardwood flooring.

“Yea jeez Ames, keep it on the drop cloth!” Beca laughs, it’s really not a big deal, she’s positive there are worse stains on the floor in Amelia’s room.

All the Bellas are working to either paint or help construct and move furniture, although Beca’s not sure how much actual work is getting done.

“Oh my gosh, Chloe these are so cute!” Aubrey squeals holding up sheets and baby blankets with little flowers and bees on them.

“I know, aren’t they?” Chloe coos back, “Don’t you just love the whole bees and flowers theme for the nursery?”

“It’s so cute,” Aubrey smiles, picking up another bee themed item to fawn over, “it makes me want to have one.”

“You should,” Chloe replies earnestly.

Aubrey just shrugs, a wistful look on her face, “Yea I just have to get Stacie on board…”

Beca knows both of them would be wonderful mothers. She wonders what’s holding them back.

Beca heads back over the pile of crib pieces scattered on the floor, where Emily is still sitting.

“Beca I’m pretty sure these directions aren’t even English, where did you buy this thing?” Emily says holding up the instruction booklet with a confused look on her face.

Beca kneels down next to her and grabs the little book, ok maybe she was right. This is confusing.

“Um let’s just wing it dude, it can’t be that hard,” Beca says a little too optimistically.

Almost the whole nursery is set up and painted before Beca and Emily even come close to getting the crib together. But after a few grueling hours, it’s finally standing.

“It looks good,” Chloe walks up next to her, eyeing her hard work, “it was really funny to watch you struggle through it too.”

Beca gives her a light shove, “Shut up, it was really confusing!”

Chloe rolls her eyes, “Sure it was babe.”

Beca tries to formulate a comeback, but her words get lost in her throat at the site of her very pregnant wife. It just hits her sometimes, how glowing and beautiful she is and just how lucky Beca is to have her.

She leans over to place a light kiss onto the red head’s lips, “I love you and our baby.”

“That’s how you’re going to respond to me making fun of you?” Chloe giggles.

Beca shrugs, “You get a pass, you’re carrying our baby.”

“You really have gone soft over the past couple years,” Chloe smirks, leaning in and giving Beca a lingering kiss.

It’s true. Chloe and their beautiful family have turned Beca to a pile of mush, but it’s ok. She’d rather be a sappy, gushy mess than a cold, lonely hard ass.

************

Chloe knows that feeling. A sharp pain rips though her making her grit her teeth. Thankfully, she’s at home, she went on maternity leave a week ago. The problem is, no one else is home. The kids are at school and Beca is doing an interview with one of the local radio stations, to promote her new single. She’ll just have to wait and see if anything else happens, but this phantom pain seems eerily familiar to the first time she was in labor.

She hasn’t left bed all morning, maybe some walking around would be good. Slowly, she rolls her way out of bed and slips into a pair of yoga pants and a loose t shirt.

Chloe is almost down the stairs when another pain courses through her, making her stop and grip the railing tightly. She doesn’t want to believe it, maybe it’s just Braxton Hicks. She makes it to the kitchen and opens the fridge to find a snack, and another one happens, much longer and sharper than the last two.

Ok, maybe she should try to call Beca.

Chloe grabs her phone and tries calling, it goes to voicemail. She must be in the interview. Her assistant probably has Beca’s phone. Maybe if she calls enough, her assistant will answer.

She tries two more times before she answers, “Chloe, it’s Jenny.”

“Hey Jenny, I figured you had Beca’s phone,” Chloe feels another sharp pain, making her gasp into the phone.

“Chloe are you ok?” the young woman asks worriedly.

Chloe’s voice is shaky as she responds, “Kind of, can you maybe let Beca know that I think I’m in labor though?”

Jenny gasps this time, “Oh my god, yea I’ll let her know right away.”

“Ok thanks, can you let her know that I’m going to have someone drive me to the hospital too,” Chloe makes sure to add, she hopes one of their friends is available.

“Definitely!” Jenny chirps before hanging up.

Luckily, Stacie is available. It really is ironic though, considering this is the second time that she’ll have taken Chloe to the hospital in labor. Stacie’s car pulls up to their house in record time. She hops out and opens the door for Chloe.

“Am I like the only one you trust to drive you to the hospital?” Stacie jokes, as the grabs Chloe’s bag from her, tossing it in the back, “Because I’m pretty sure that stress wise, I handle this the worst.”

“You were the only person that isn’t busy today,” Chloe rolls her eyes, “and you did great last time.”

“Sure I did,” Stacie replies sarcastically, as they both get into the car.

The second they start down the road, Chloe’s phone goes off. She looks down to see it’s Beca.

“Hey Becs,” she answers calmly.

“ _Oh my god Chlo, I’ll be there as fast as I can! I shouldn’t have left you. I cancelled everything else on my schedule today, are you ok?”_ Beca sputters out, barely taking a breath.

Chloe’s about to say she’s fine when another contraction rocks her, making her hiss loudly into the phone, “Yea I’m totally ok.”

_“Yea, sure you sound ok,”_ Beca’s tone indicates she clearly doesn’t believe her.

“Ok, well we’re almost to the hospital, just get here Beca,” she says quickly, before another contraction hits.

It doesn’t take much time to get into a room and changed into a gown, once they reach the hospital. The doctor confirms that she is indeed in labor shortly after she’s settled. Now Chloe just needs Beca.

Her labor progresses strangely fast, the doctor assures her that’s common for second time mothers. It doesn’t make Chloe feel any better though, because Beca still isn’t here and it’s going quick. They came in to give her an epidural a little while ago, so she’s not in as much pain. She can’t go through birth without her wife though, she needs Beca.

“Chloe we need to start pushing soon,” it’s been a couple hours and Beca is still nowhere in sight, and the doctor is in her room ready to deliver.

“I need Beca here first,” Chloe groans, sweat trickling down her forehead already.

“I can give you five more minutes, but then we need to start pushing, it’s not good for the baby,” the doctor replies kindly, but firmly to convey the severity of the situation.

“She still won’t answer,” Stacie says pulling her phone away from her ear.

“I’m going to kill that scraggly little alt girl,” Aubrey bites angrily, reverting to herself from over ten years ago.

Aubrey had shown up an hour ago for moral support, since Beca still hadn’t.

“Don’t kill my wife…” Chloe grits her teeth in pain, “I want to do it.”

Before anyone can respond Beca flies into Chloe’s room, eyes and hair both wild.

“Where were you?” Aubrey is the first person to snap.

“I’m so sorry Chlo,” Beca runs to her side, grabbing her hand, “there was a major accident on the highway that blocked traffic, I’m pretty sure my driver is still sitting in it.”

She was going to yell at Beca but can’t because of how confused she is, “What do you mean he’s still sitting in it? How did you get here?”

Beca looks at them all sheepishly, “I got out of the car and ran down the highway to the off ramp, then called an uber when I got to the street.”

“What the hell?” all three women say almost simultaneously.

“That was so dangerous Beca, are you insane?” Chloe screams in disbelief.

“I had to get to you Chloe, I couldn’t miss this, I would never miss this,” Beca says, tears rolling down her face.

As if on cue, the doctor walks back in the room and sees the newest addition, “Oh good she’s here, let’s get this show on the road.”

Chloe nods, knowing they have to start now. Beca grabs her hand tightly and brings it up to her lips to kiss before setting it back down on the bed.

“Alright on the next contraction, push Chloe,” the doctor says, settling on a stool between Chloe’s legs.

Aubrey and Stacie back up a little to the other side of the room, to make room for the nurses and other staff in the room now.

“Ok,” Chloe nods, gripping Beca’s hand so tightly, she’s sure it’s losing circulation already.

Chloe pushes hard, screaming as she does so, pain ripping through her.

“Good job” the doctor says.

Chloe keeps pushing for the next ten minutes, Beca encouraging her through the entire time. When she started to falter, Aubrey stepped in and grabbed her other hand. The blonde knows Chloe is going to need some tough love in the minutes to come.

“Ok, Chloe one more big push and the head will be out,” the doctor says calmly.

Chloe’s positive she can’t handle one more, she needs this baby out of her now, “Ughhh.”

“Baby you can do it, you’re so strong,” Beca says encouragingly.

Aubrey looks at her fiercely, “Remember, we don’t give up here Chloe, you’ve got this.”

The strength of the two most important women in her life, give her all the motivation she needs. The pushes harder than she has the whole time and everyone cheers.

“The head is out, the rest will be easy,” the hears from between her legs, the blood rushing in her ears making it hard to discern.

After a few more big pushes, she hears the piercing cry of an infant.

“You did it Chloe,” Beca leans down and kisses the side of her head, not even caring about her sweaty, disheveled state, “our baby girl is here.”

“I’m so proud of you,” Aubrey says, finally letting go of her hand.

Chloe’s overcome with so much emotion when she finally sees their baby. The nurse brings her over and places her into Chloe’s arms when she’s cleaned up.

For the second time in her life, Chloe meets a pair of blue eyes identical to her own.

“She’s so beautiful,” Beca whispers in awe next to her.

“She is, isn’t she?” Chloe agrees, her gaze never leaving the precious bundle in her arms.

“I think I really like the name Avery for her, it seems right,” they’ve been toying around with names for weeks, Avery was the name Chloe liked but Beca was on the fence about, so it’s surprising Beca is suggesting it.

“It does suit her,” Chloe says dreamily, letting their daughter’s tiny hand gently attempt the grasp at her pointer finger, “do you want your momma to hold you Avery?”

Beca looks down excitedly at the two, “Can I?”

“She’s your baby too Becs,” Chloe says, weakly trying to lift the infant to her.

Beca immediately reaches down and scoops the baby into her arms. The look of complete adoration and love on Beca’s face as she holds Avery, floors Chloe. Right here and right now, watching Beca hold their baby, Chloe knows this was always how it was supposed to be. Her and Beca together, with their beautiful family.

Life had a funny way of getting them here. For a while, she was convinced this was never meant to be.

She wouldn’t change it for the world though. Chloe knows that this is exactly how it was all supposed to work out.

Beca looks back down at Chloe her eyes watery, “I love you Chloe.”

Chloe feels her own eyes water as she returns the sentiment, “I love you with my whole heart Beca.”


End file.
